


Painted Walls and Hardwood Floors

by New54321



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Firefighter!Nicole, Flirting, Fluff, Gay Mess Waverly Earp, Mega Flirting, No Angst, Roommates, Smut, Thirsty!Waverly, Tropes, What Even Is Angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:55:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 82,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/New54321/pseuds/New54321
Summary: Waverly Earp is the very proud new owner of a little bungalow, completely perfect in every way.All she needs now is a roommate.An unbearably sexy redheaded roommate that she absolutely does not have a crush on. No sir, she does not.Not even a little bit.Probably.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 1237
Kudos: 2785





	1. It's Fine. This is Fine.

**Author's Note:**

> It's tropey and it's fluffy and it's sexy and it's everything I love to write best!
> 
> Hope you enjoy 😊

Waverly flitted about the living room of her new home, fluffing the couch cushions for maybe the fifth time that evening, and lighting the scented candles that adorned the thick beamed mantlepiece. She considered lighting the fire, pulled by fantasies of soft flames casting a homely glow over the modern country living room she had so painstakingly decorated, but she knew the chimney hadn't been cleaned in years and the last thing she needed was a soot cloud over the room she had spent all afternoon preparing for her guests. 

She’d bought the property just three months ago, had poured her time and her effort into making it the perfect first home for herself, and now it was finally ready for the second bedroom to be rented out. She didn’t necessarily _need_ a roommate, but she liked the idea of having someone else around her little home with her. She had visions of movie nights, and games nights, and hosting dinner parties in which their friends would mingle, and so she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about who would show up at her door tonight. She had four people lined up, but all she had was names for each. Hence the scurrying and the preening and the unnecessary nesting. 

The property was quirky; a bungalow that had an almost loft feel to it, with wide floor to ceiling windows, exposed cobbled brickwork and beams that angled into the roof. There were two bedrooms, pretty much equal in size, a kitchen and dining area separated from the living room by half walls and arched beams, a shared bathroom, a garden and a driveway. Waverly liked the way it sat back from the road, the driveway lined by a hedge that offered privacy. 

Waverly bustled into the kitchen, wiping non-existent crumbs from the surfaces, and rearranging the snacks and the wine and the soft drinks that she had neatly laid out across the granite island. She _might_ have gone a little overboard, and she knew it was likely that none of the viewers would even want any, but she was nervous and she wanted to make a good impression. She sighed, glancing at the clock as she wiped her sweaty palms on her jean clad thighs. She wasn't really sure how this kind of thing was supposed to go, but she wanted to be a good host anyway. The sound of the doorbell sent her heart rate into overdrive, and she took a shaky breath as she tried to calm the nerves that she was all too aware were unnecessarily heightened.

She darted down the hallway, plastering what she hoped was her most endearing smile across her face as she clicked the latch and threw back the door. Her smile faltered slightly as she took in the young, suited man leaning casually against her doorway, his eyes buried in his phone as he stamped the end of a cigarette out on the bristled welcome mat that Waverly had spent an agonising 75 minutes picking out in the home store the weekend before. She caught herself, forcing the smile wide once more as he flicked green eyes up to meet hers. She fought to conceal her shudder as his lips curled into a smirk that was somehow both dismissive and leery at the same time. 

“Hi, I’m Waverly.” The way the man’s eyes flicked shamelessly over her body had her pulling her woolen knit cardigan closer around her front, and she took an involuntary step back as she introduced herself. “You must be Ben?”

“That’s me.” 

The reply was a disinterested grunt, but his eyes still roamed her body and Waverly blinked, almost not quite able to believe this man was real. Was it acceptable to end this here on the doorstep? She let out a resigned sigh as Ben stepped forwards over the threshold. She was too polite for her own good, but she let her forced smile drop a little as she gestured into the hallway. She led him through the house, trying her best to make small talk, but getting one word answers, if any response at all. Ben remained unresponsive and yet too attentive all at the same time as he followed her through the house, and she found herself rushing him around, desperate to have the man and his wandering eyes out of her home.

Waverly leaned back against the door as she closed it after him, unable to stop the dejected sigh from escaping her lips. That had not been the best start. She was hoping to make a friend out of this roommate, and so she was really hoping someone she could click with would come along. Was she being naive? She’d never done this before. She padded into the kitchen, her nerves stronger and her excitement waning slightly. She poured herself a glass of wine, just bringing the deep red liquid to her lips as the sound of the doorbell rang out once more. She took a large gulp, taking a moment to compose herself before heading back down the hallway to greet her next guest. 

“Hi!” Waverly heard the surprise in her own voice as she opened the door to an older woman, her greying hair coiffed neatly around her face. She hadn’t been expecting this age bracket, but the woman had a wide, friendly smile across her face and an affable twinkle in her eye, so she was certainly in no hurry to judge too soon. “You must be Sarah?”

Waverly’s smile grew genuine as the woman introduced herself, making easy, friendly conversation as the brunette led her through the house. Sarah seemed bubbly and good-humoured, and was definitely a vast improvement on her previous visitor. As they reentered the hallway at the end of the tour, Waverly was feeling much more positive.

“I’m _so_ glad you seem like a nice young lady.” Sarah paused at the door, turning to face Waverly with a grin. "Would you believe this is the _third_ room I’ve viewed tonight? The other two were just _not_ for me.” 

Waverly furrowed her brows. There was… _something_ in the words that felt like a shift. Some change in the tone that didn't quite match the easy nature that Sarah had shown so far. 

“Why not?” Waverly raised an eyebrow, the question almost hesitant.

“ _Well,_ the first house was owned by a man from _India,_ and there’s no way that I’m going to be paying him rent just so that he can send it back to his home country…” 

“ _What?”_ Waverly froze, cutting the woman off with a stutter of shocked disgust. Had she heard that right? _Surely_ not?

"Right?" Sarah nodded, blindly seeming to misinterpret Waverly's shock for some kind of agreement. She gestured animatedly as she continued. “And the _second_ house was owned by one of those…” 

Sarah gesticulated loosely with her left hand, her eyebrows raised as if Waverly should understand her meaning. The brunette raised an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest as she eyed the woman disdainfully. Sarah rolled her eyes as she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“ _Gays_.”

“ _Okay_ , I think you’ve seen enough." Waverly's voice was cold, anger shaking in her fingers as she reached past Sarah to open the door. "Out you go.” 

“But, I…” Sarah began to sputter in protest as Waverly placed her hands on the back of the woman’s shoulders, physically pushing her out of her home. “Will I be hearing from you soon?”

Waverly shook her head, her rage heating too thick below her skin to allow her mind to offer a response. She closed the door in Sarah's reddening, flustered face, thumping her forehead against the back of it in frustration. Had she done something wrong here? Had she somehow slipped her ad into Assholes Weekly? She ran a hand through her hair, stomped back to the kitchen and threw back her glass of wine in heavy gulps. She poured another glass, and sipped at it as she pulled her phone from her pocket. One new message, telling her that Chris Rankin, her last visitor of the evening, had found alternative accommodation and would not be attending this evening. _Great_. One more chance, then. She shoved her phone forcefully back into her pocket, aggressively throwing a spring roll into her mouth. What would _Nicole Haught_ do, kick puppies? Stamp on fucking hedgehogs? 

The sound of the doorbell just pissed her off this time, and she threw back another large gulp of her wine before stomping down the hallway, desperate now to just get the evening over with and crawl into the comfort of her reading nook to forget about the world for a while. She pulled the door back, her furrowed brows shooting up as she took in the person now standing on her doorstep. She blinked, her mind fighting to catch up with her body as she let her eyes drift over her newest visitor. The woman was _gorgeous._ Long red hair pulled straight over her shoulders, a simple black t-shirt under a maroon bomber jacket, and grey wash jeans. Her wide, friendly smile reached warm russet eyes, and holy _fuck_ Waverly could die in those dimples. She stuttered slightly, shaking her head in an effort to compose herself as the redhead’s smile faltered, her eyes reading unsure for a moment.

“Do I have the right place?” The woman spoke softly, her eyes flicking to the chrome numbers screwed neatly off to the side of the doorframe. “I’m looking for a Waverly Earp, about a room?”

“Yes! Yes that’s me.” Waverly blushed, chastising herself for her brain malfunction. She held her hand out as she introduced herself, feeling her stomach flip _so_ unnecessarily as the woman closed her own around it, dimples back in full force as she grinned widely.

“I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.”

 _"That you are,"_ Waverly murmured. When she had read the name in the email she hadn't thought anything of it, but with its bearer stood before her now, she couldn’t help but think she'd never heard a more fitting name.

Nicole chuckled lowly, and Waverly was suddenly starkly aware that she had said that out loud, and that she was still staring way too hard at this woman’s smile. She shook her head and took a step back, tearing her eyes from the dimples before she did something stupid, like lick them.

"Of-of course you are! I mean you emailed, _we_ emailed, I was expecting you, right? Yeah. That's…" Waverly chuckled awkwardly, waving her hands aimlessly as she gestured for Nicole to come inside. "That's all I meant. What. I meant. _Please_ come in."

Waverly turned away as she led Nicole down the hall, her face twisting in a deep cringe as she fought to get a _damn_ grip. Since when was she this pathetic around pretty girls? But then, to her credit, _pretty_ just seemed so understated. This girl was something else entirely. Those _lips_ , and that _stupid_ fucking dimple...

“Wow, Waverly this place is incredible.”

Waverly jumped, cursing herself once again for her wandering mind as Nicole’s voice broke through her reverie. If she could really call it that. Flat out inappropriate fantasies, really.

“You have a good eye.” Nicole beamed widely as she continued, and Waverly felt her cheeks flush deeply under the redhead’s warm gaze. 

“Are you planning a party?” Nicole smirked as Waverly led her into the kitchen, and she quirked an eyebrow as she nodded towards the snacks and drinks.

Waverly laughed, her shoulders dropping in the redhead’s easy presence.

“I may have gone a _little_ overboard." Waverly chuckled, eyeing the admittedly _completely_ unnecessary spread of food and drinks. "Please humour me and have something?”

Nicole laughed openly, and Waverly’s stomach immediately performed a pretentious series of gymnastics at the sound. She swallowed back the butterflies that seem to swarm in her fucking _throat_ of all places, and shot Nicole her best pleading look as she picked up the wine bottle she had been pouring from earlier.

“ _Wow_ , those puppy dog eyes are _dangerous_!” Nicole laughed, taking a step closer to Waverly, with a shake of her head. “Okay, I will have a glass of wine, so long as you’re having one with me. And I was never gonna say no to these.” She grinned cheekily, picking up a mini spring roll and popping it into her mouth.

Waverly’s body was in a place she was sure it had never been before. She felt more relaxed in Nicole’s presence than she had been all evening, and yet every time those mocha eyes met hers, her skin lit on fire and her stomach tried for gold in Acrobatics, her mouth traitorously dryer with every sip of her wine. She cursed under her breath, clenching her fists in anger as if somehow she could punish her own hormones. She could _do_ this. Nicole Haught was just a person. Just an unbearably sexy, effortlessly confident, all out woman of her god damn dreams person. Who maybe wanted to live here. With Waverly. That was _fine_. Just fine.

“So Nicole...” Waverly winced as she met warm eyes and her stomach responded, quickly turning her focus to the wine she was pouring. Anything to stop the stumbling mess she was presenting herself as. "Wh-what brings you here?"

“Ah, I’m new to the area." Nicole shrugged, her eyes not leaving Waverly. "I've just taken a job here, and it seemed like a good idea to move in with someone else so I’m not completely alone.”

Waverly grinned as she slid a glass of wine over the counter to Nicole. She couldn’t risk handing it to her. Just in case their fingers touched or something and her body had a Richter 9.0 scale breakdown. She gestured towards the living room, laughing as Nicole grabbed the bowl of spring rolls on her way past. They fell into easy conversation as Waverly showed Nicole around the property. Whilst her body still fought her at every turn, Waverly was finding it hard not to feel increasingly relaxed and comfortable in the redhead’s presence. She was witty in the dry kind of way that Waverly loved, warm in everything she said, and just the right amount of complimentary of the home and the decor that the brunette had worked so tirelessly to perfect. Waverly hung onto Nicole’s every word, and if she was honest, she wasn't even sure how or when they had ended up curled on opposite ends of her three seater couch, sharing stories and nursing glasses of wine with a plate of mini quiches on the coffee table before them. She watched as Nicole leaned forwards, placing her empty wine glass down on the coffee table with a mischievous smirk across her full lips.

“So…" Nicole grinned, raising her eyebrows as she settled back into the corner of the couch. "How many people am I gonna have to fight off for this place?”

“You wanna live here?” Waverly cringed as she heard the gasp leave her own lips, and the crystal clear excitement in the tone of her voice. She cleared her throat. Play it _cool,_ Earp. 

“Oh, god yeah.” Nicole chuckled, tilting her head slightly as she studied the brunette’s face in a way that made Waverly’s stomach spin. “I'm sold on the company alone, the beautiful house is just a bonus.”

“For your charm, it’s yours.” Waverly grinned, internally congratulating herself for demonstrating the tiniest element of normal human flirtation for the first time this evening.

Nicole beamed, her dimples popping in full force as she pulled a celebratory fist at her side.

“I do have to let you know though…" 

Nicole’s smile dropped for a moment as she spoke, and Waverly’s breath caught in her throat. This was going to be it. The catch. The hedgehog stamping, or the unabashed racism, or the dedicated passion to the French horn, or whatever other bullshit the universe decided to throw at her tonight. She steeled herself, preparing for the worst as Nicole opened her mouth to continue.

"I’m a firefighter, so I work shifts. Is that okay?”

Oh. 

_Oh._

Oh shit.

“ _Y-yeah_ no problem.” Waverly’s mouth dried immediately as images of Nicole in a firefighter's uniform, her cheeks dusted with ash as she emerged heroically from a burning building crossed before her eyes.

Oh god help her.

“And do you erm... do you wear the uniform around the house? Much? Erm. Ever?”

Nicole chuckled, a hint of a blush crossing her own cheeks as Waverly quirked an eyebrow, a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

“You know, just so I know what to expect.” Waverly grinned. 

“You’ll see it enough.” 

Nicole’s lips pulled into a lopsided smirk, and then she had the audacity to wink. To _wink_ , just as Waverly had started to gain a shred of confidence. Heat instantly surged under the brunette’s skin and she slammed her eyes shut, clenching her jaw in a desperate effort to stop herself from unwittingly announcing that her body belonged to Nicole. She shook her head, searching her mind frantically for safer territory. 

“So when can you move in?" Waverly jumped up, making a beeline for the drawers at the side of the room where she had previously stashed the contracts she had had drawn up for the tenancy. "Do you wanna do the paperwork now?”

“Yeah, sign me up." Nicole sat upright, leaning her elbows forwards onto her knees as she watched Waverly rummage through the drawer. "I’m in a hotel right now so I’d like to be here as soon as it’s convenient for you.”

“Any time. The room is ready. As soon as the paper bits are done and I've got the first month's rent, then it’s yours as far as I’m concerned.” Waverly bit her lip to suppress the giddy smile that tugged at her cheeks as she laid the papers out across the coffee table in front of Nicole.

“Great." Nicole grinned as she pulled the papers towards her, deep eyes flicking rapidly across the pages as she took in the information printed on them. "This weekend, then?”

"You don't kick puppies do you?" 

Waverly bit her tongue, her eyes widening as confused mocha ones flicked up to meet them.

"What?" Nicole furrowed her brows. "Of course not…" Nicole’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping slightly in awe as her gaze darted around the room. "Do you _have_ a puppy?"

"N-no. No, a girl just has to check these things, you know?"

Waverly blushed as Nicole raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly as she searched the brunette’s face.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Waverly Earp."

Waverly’s head swam as she closed the door behind Nicole, leaning back against it for a moment of composure. The conversation had been _so_ easy, and the way the woman’s eyes had sublty flirted with her even when her words hadn't had been nothing but irresistible. She knew she was in trouble. She was in _so_ much trouble. But her own practically vibrating pants aside, Nicole seemed like an amazing person and she already knew she could trust her.

It was _fine_.

She could handle it.

It wasn't a crush.

She did _not_ have a crush. She could admire the female form without ripping her clothes off and throwing herself at it. She _could._

It was _not_ a crush.


	2. I am a Goddamn Feminist!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to chapter one of this was awesome, thank you so much! 😊
> 
> Couple asked about posting schedules. There is no point in me lying to you. I could set a schedule, but then I would ignore it and post whenever I wanted to anyway, so it would be an unnecessary waste of everyone's time 😂 I will update at least once a week. Probably more. 
> 
> Please keep letting me know what you think! It gets me through my days 😉
> 
> Enjoy chapter 2!

"You okay back there, Waverly?" 

Waverly jumped at the sound of Nicole’s grunted voice, almost dropping her end of the heavy box of… sumo wrestlers, or whatever the fuck was in this thing. It was difficult for her to make too many educated guesses while she was lugging heavy boxes through the house with a sexy firefighter, whose sweat sheened lightly over muscles that quite literally _bulged_ beneath the sleeves of a dirt smeared white t-shirt. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Waverly managed to register that they probably strained so hard because the brunette had kind of _stopped_ helping.

"What?” She cursed the high pitched squeak of her voice, her cheeks flushing hot. She chuckled awkwardly, shaking her head with a scoff. “I wasn't staring at your arms."

Nicole blinked, staring blankly at Waverly’s face for a moment before she laughed openly, shuffling her body to support the weight of the box on her thigh.

"Are you objectifying me, Earp?" She grinned, the tip of her tongue teasing the corners of her lips as she raised her eyebrows. "On the very day I move in here, no less."

"No!" Waverly’s eyes shot wide, the pitch of her voice just refusing to come down. "I am a _feminist_ , I absolutely would never."

The box between them shook precariously as Nicole laughed. She wriggled her eyebrows as she made a deliberate show of hoisting the box back into her arms, flexing muscles Waverly was pretty sure didn’t even exist in normal human bodies. Waverly gripped her end of the box tightly, biting her tongue so hard she tasted copper in an effort to stop herself from outright whimpering.

" _Ridiculous_ suggestion," she muttered, stumbling into the doorframe as her eyes once again followed her roommate’s biceps and not her surroundings.

Nicole chuckled, her eyes sparkling with mischief as they finally placed the box down on the floor in the redhead’s new bedroom. She wiped her dusty hands on the front of her t-shirt, smirking as Waverly’s eyes traced the movement. 

"Well that..." She grinned, brushing dangerously close past Waverly as she made her way back towards the door. "Is a _damn_ shame."

Waverly shook her head as an unbidden heat surged under her skin, and she wasn't sure whether to laugh or scowl. She groaned in frustration when her mouth twisted into an awkward grimace in its attempt to do both.

"Asshole." 

Nicole’s laugh rang in Waverly’s ears as the brunette followed her back out to the van, absolutely not staring at her ass and absolutely not blushing when her new roommate turned her head and caught her in the act. 

Absolutely not a crush.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly was sitting at the kitchen table leafing through a recipe book when Nicole appeared in the doorway with a _fucking_ power tool. The white t-shirt and the orange flannel tied around her waist were both a little dirtier and a little sweatier than they had been before, and frankly the whole aesthetic was more than a little sexier.

"Hey, Wave, do you mind if I put a couple of shelves up in here?"

_Wave._

Give her strength.

“No, not at all!” Waverly waved her hand dismissively, offering her roommate the sweetest smile she could muster in the midst of her decidedly un-sweet thought process. “Please make yourself at home! I’m gonna make a lasagne tonight. Want some?”

“Ugh, _yes_ please, if you're sure? You’re a hero.” Nicole grinned, her lips already curling around the head end of a screw as she fished around in her jeans pocket. She waved the drill in a gesture of gratitude. “Thanks, Wave.” 

Once the sound of footsteps faded down the hall, Waverly's smile dropped, and she grimaced as she let her forehead fall against the surface of the table with a thunk. She groaned into the solid wood, mumbling in self-admonition as her embarrassment took over.

“Get it together, Earp, what is wrong with you? _Yes_ , she's _very_ sexy. But that’s fine. It’s _fine._ It is absolutely fine. You can treat her like a normal human. You are a _goddamn_ feminist.”

A throat cleared in the doorway and Waverly squealed, jumping out of her skin and flailing on the wooden chair as she shot upright. 

“ _Jesus,_ Mary and Joseph, _warn_ a girl!” 

“I was uh... wondering if you could maybe give me a hand?” Nicole shrugged, giving a guilty sort of grin as she held her drill up by way of explanation.

Waverly exhaled heavily, praying to God, Allah, Sappho and Gillian Anderson that Nicole had not heard her insane monologue. She shook her hands out as she stood, as if to somehow shake off this completely inconvenient but _purely_ physical attraction. Not a crush. She _really_ needed to quit being such a useless bisexual, and make her new roommate feel welcome. _Not_ ogled. 

“Wow, it already looks so amazing in here!” Waverly’s voice softened in awe as she took in the barely recognisable room around her. The decor was the same, obviously, but the soft furnishings and the artwork and the tasteful ornaments that already adorned the walls and surfaces made the room feel so _different_. It felt like Nicole, and the thought made her chest feel warm. “How have you made it look so homely in like, three hours?” 

“I moved around a _lot_ growing up. Only thing that kept me sane was having a space that felt like mine.” Nicole shrugged, her warm eyes searching Waverly’s face as she spoke. “Pretty quickly mastered the art of a pop-up bedroom," she grinned, "and once you’ve got that skill it never leaves you."

"You're a woman of many talents, Nicole Haught." Waverly smiled widely, her eyes crinkling as she watched a light blush dust the redhead’s cheeks.

"Just you wait til you taste my cooking, Miss Earp."

As Nicole busied herself lining up the shelves, passing gentle instructions between easy conversation, Waverly was reminded once again of how easy it was to be in the redhead’s company, and how similar their sense of humour seemed to be. By the time the shelves were sturdy and Waverly had excused herself to make a start on their dinner, she had made up her mind. Enough flustered stutters and wandering eyes and overdramatic olympic diving in the depths of her stomach. Nicole was exactly the kind of person Waverly had been hoping would take this room, and she could one hundred percent manage a friendship with this girl. 

Friends.

Because she did not have a crush.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  


It lasted 12 hours.

Waverly held it together through a lovely, friendly meal, a mutual effort to clear up, and a well deserved drink before they parted for a reasonably early night. It crashed around her immediately the moment that she padded sleepily into the kitchen at 6am the next morning, to find Nicole pouring fresh coffee into a reusable to-go cup. 

In her uniform. 

Not even the full uniform; just the dark slacks and the shirt with the emblem and the collar and why was this _so_ sexy on its own? Waverly swallowed thickly, her mind still far too asleep to process this level of lust at this early hour. There was every possibility at this point that she was still dreaming, and so she didn’t even try to stop her eyes from dropping slowly over the curves of her roommate’s body, sat tight below the thick navy fabric. It took an obnoxiously smug cough from Nicole before she realised this was, in fact, her reality, and she snapped her gaze guiltily to meet teasing dark eyes and an _almost_ abashed smirk. Almost.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Waverly teased, resigning herself to her racing heart. She quirked an eyebrow playfully, her voice embarrassingly hoarse.

Christ help her if she ever saw Nicole in full firefighting get-up. 

Although now that was _all_ she could think about.

“You’re gonna be bad for my ego, Earp.” Nicole chuckled, her voice light and playful though the hint of a blush was undeniable across her cheeks and the tips of her ears. She winked. “ _This_ is nothing but a shirt and trousers!"

Waverly's mind was still lost somewhere between the flexed forearms beneath the rolled sleeves of the shirt in front of her now, and the images in her mind of Nicole in full PPE. Thick set trousers, held up by suspenders over a sweaty, sooty white sports bra, beads of sweat running down exposed abs; the heavy coat open over muscular shoulders. That was realistic, right?

"Do you have plans tonight?" 

Nicole’s voice registered in the edges of Waverly’s fantasies, and she shook her head to snap herself back to reality.

"Maybe I could get us a takeout? We could light the fire pit, have a couple of drinks and get to know each other a bit?"

"Yes!" Waverly grinned, her stomach warming at the almost bashful request. This was exactly what she had been hoping for when she had taken out the ad, and to hear the suggestion fall from Nicole’s lips and not her own was music to her ears. "Sounds perfect, I'm in."

"Awesome!" Nicole grinned, tipping her coffee flask almost shyly in Waverly’s direction as she headed towards the hall. "I'll see you tonight. Have a great day, Wave."

  
  


Waverly showered in a daze. She let the water run cold several times in an effort to cool the images that seared behind her eyes and under her skin, of a (barely) uniformed Nicole, running through burning buildings and rescuing puppies from trees.

 _God_ ** _,_ **that woman was hot.

Not that it was a crush. Of course. Just an admiration and a _respect_ for the... _bravery_ of the profession. 

And for well formed muscles and life-altering dimples.

She dried and dressed hastily, desperate to get on with her day. She needed to find something to entertain her racing brain that might allow her a reprieve from the dull ache between her legs for a few hours. Perhaps Wynonna would be free, or Jeremy. Or she could wander into town, pick up a few things for the garden.

As she headed into the kitchen for her shopping bags, Waverly frowned as she spotted a blue plastic container on the granite island. One that she definitely didn't own. She flipped the lid, sighing sympathetically as she ascertained it as Nicole’s lunch. Forgotten, no doubt, in the distraction of Waverly’s shameful perving. She cringed, shaking her head of the _hopefully_ exaggerated memories.

Nicole _needed_ this, right? Her lunch? It would be the right thing to do to take it to her. She couldn’t _possibly_ get anything else for lunch, so Waverly would absolutely, definitely need to take it down to the station where she may or may not see Nicole in her full firefighting gear. She had no choice really, did she? She couldn’t very well let the woman starve. 

_Right?_

If she was completely honest, it didn't matter either way. Waverly was one more sweaty hero fantasy away from setting fire to the living room curtains and calling Nicole’s number directly, so she figured it was in everyone's best interest really that she go. 

  
  


The station was small, in keeping with the town. Just a large three walled forecourt with open shutters making up the fourth, that housed the town's trucks. A cluster of simple desks lay pushed to the back wall, and a number of small, windowed offices led off of the court, along with a few closed-off rooms that Waverly assumed held facilities and equipment storage areas. It was fairly empty when she arrived, just a few vaguely familiar faces loitering around the forecourt. There was no sign of Nicole, and now that she was here Waverly was starting to feel more than a little embarrassed. God, Nicole was her _paying_ tenant of little over 24 hours, who was currently working an _extremely_ important job, and really did not need her hormone-charged landlord chasing her down at work for some kind of _thirst call._

Though, she _did_ need her lunch.

With her embarrassment and her remorse heavy in her chest, Waverly made her way across the forecourt to where a tall blonde guy she didn't recognise, and the man she knew to be Chief Nedley were sat at desks tucked into the corners. She prepared herself to leave the lunch and run before Nicole could catch a glimpse of her guilt-ridden face, but before she could open her mouth to address Nedley, the sound of a large engine truck roared behind her, and the bright red vehicle swung into the forecourt. 

She didn't even have time to blush. Her breath hitched in anticipation as Nicole jumped effortlessly from the high vehicle, her helmet tucked snug under her arm. _Every_ rational thought that Waverly had built in her head over the past five minutes flew straight out of the window, and her thighs practically fell apart at the mere sight of the redhead in her full protective gear, the fabric showing clear signs of recent dirt and distress. Waverly would potentially have been disappointed that there were no sweaty abs on display, if she weren't _far_ too busy trying to keep herself from climbing into the oversized coat and tying herself against Nicole’s body with the heavy black suspenders.

"Hey, Waves!" 

The pleasant surprise in Nicole’s cheerful voice, the soft, searching eyes and the beaming dimpled grin were just unfair in this moment. The devil's work.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You, er…" The hoarse break in Waverly’s voice was just humiliating, and her empty hand for some treacherous reason was gesturing up and down Nicole’s body with a complete volition of its own. She winced. "You forgot your lunch." 

Nicole paused for a moment, inquisitive eyes studying Waverly’s, before something playful sparked behind them and she smirked. She made a deliberate show of looking down at her own body, her eyes following the traitorous path of Waverly’s hand. She chuckled, raising an eyebrow in smug amusement, and Waverly felt her stomach drop as the firefighter stepped _way_ closer than she needed to to retrieve the lunchbox. The move was deliberate, and the sheer _audacity_ of it made Waverly’s knees shake. She swallowed thickly, her brain still fighting to remember that she could not, in fact, mount Nicole's abs in here. 

Or indeed, anywhere!

Nicole winked as Waverly’s eyes _finally_ met amused mocha. Something about the softness in them contradicted the cocky lopsided grin on the redhead’s face, and it finally snapped a cord in Waverly’s mind, enabling her for half a second to pull her shit together. She bit her lip, and reached her hand forward to run flirtatiously over the black of the firefighter's suspenders. She let the corners of her lips twitch in amusement as the tips of Nicole's ears flamed red, and a recognisable flustered panic flashed through her eyes as the tables were turned back on her. Waverly grinned, ignoring the deep feeling of smug butterflies at the reaction she'd been able to coax, and pulled hard on the material, twanging the suspenders back against Nicole’s chest with a satisfyingly audible snap.

"Asshole." Nicole muttered, her deep blush spreading across her cheeks and her neck. She shook her head, rubbing her chest where the suspenders had snapped, but her soft dimples betrayed her amusement.

Waverly winked, smirking as she patted Nicole’s chest lightly, before pushing her back and turning on her heels.

"Have a great day, Nic!"

The smug butterflies beat so hard they practically carried her back to her car, and she couldn't wipe the giddy smile from her face all afternoon.

Still absolutely _not_ a goddamn crush, though.

  
  
  



	3. Asking For a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, this is why I don't set posting schedules 😉
> 
> Your comments have been hilarious, please keep them coming, they're making my month 😂
> 
> Happy Friday, happy weekend, and happy reading!

Waverly’s heart hammered in her chest as she completed the last of her post run stretches, her hands pressed firmly against the brick wall of the house to help hold her steady. The run had been hard, and her sweaty yoga pants and cropped lycra top clung uncomfortably to her skin, but it had felt _great_ to let off a little steam. Christ knows she'd needed it. 

Her _tiny_ little win with Nicole at the station earlier had left her feeling smug all afternoon, but her run had allowed her to clear her head and she knew she needed to rein it in. The universe had handed her a dream of a roommate, and the last thing she wanted to do was drive Nicole out with her inappropriate and decidedly _un_ feminist perving. She inhaled deeply, breathing out with the stretch as she felt her body start to calm, her blood beginning to cool through her veins. She took a long gulp from her water bottle as she fumbled with her keys in the lock.

As soon as she pushed through the door her blood seared immediately, and she dropped the bottle. She barely even noticed as it crashed to the floor and rolled down the hallway. 

The universe had to be _fucking_ kidding her. 

Sexy, sweaty, toned, and far-too-fucking-charming-for-her-own-damn-good Nicole Haught was doing pull ups, half naked, in the hallway.

Waverly couldn’t move, and she was pretty sure she’d forgotten how to breathe. The sports bra wasn’t white or sooty, but the muscles that rippled below it as Nicole hauled herself up with a frightening ease were _straight_ out of Waverly’s dirtiest fantasies, and those _thighs_ were just…

Waverly swallowed thickly.

Could those _really_ be called shorts? 

The soft, rhythmic grunting was an issue it didn’t even bear thinking about.

“Oh hey, Wave!”

Waverly could only hope that the sound that left her own mouth was a greeting of some sort, and not the wordless declaration of lust that her brain seemed determined to make.

Nicole jumped down from the bar that hung in the doorway between her room and the hall, and stepped towards her. Waverly was powerless to stop her eyes from tracing the curves that blanketed muscles that had been so prominent as the redhead had worked them. Waverly had envisioned a hardness to Nicole’s stomach, but frankly she was pretty sure she would lick a river toad for the chance to sink her teeth into the feminine softness that she found instead.

Waverly finally managed to snap her eyes up to meet Nicole’s, an intense, unexpected ripple of smug pride coursing through her as she processed that they too were wandering. Nicole’s gaze was slightly glazed and her lips were subtly parted as she slowly mapped the defined lines of Waverly's stomach below her cropped tank. The brunette clenched her core cheekily, and her chest practically swelled with self-satisfaction as Nicole’s ears reddened and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Her second win in a day. She grinned. She worked hard to keep her abs, and she knew it showed. She quirked an eyebrow and cleared her throat in a move that showed far too much false confidence considering the still very apparent state of undress of the goddess in front of her, and the uncomfortable pulse between her own legs.

"Maybe we should work out together next time?" Nicole smirked, her voice a little rougher and a little lower than expected as her playful eyes found Waverly’s.

_Fuck._

God _damn_ it.

Waverly could physically feel her sanity pack its bags for Tristan da Cuhna, as her mind sank _immediately_ into the dark depths of her filthiest fantasies. An incoherent slideshow of particularly unhelpful images seared behind her eyes, and she hurtled full speed into a state of flat out panic. 

"Sh-shower!" She blurted.

"What?" Nicole’s eyes shot wide, her cheeks tinting red.

"Me! I need to shower. Immediately." She stumbled backwards over her own feet as she felt her way across the hallway to the bathroom, directly opposite Nicole’s bedroom door. "So sweaty! Gross. It's really… gotta go."

As soon as the bathroom door separated her asinine ramblings from Nicole’s bewildered face, Waverly let her forehead fall against the wood with a thump, groaning loudly.

"You okay in there, Wave?"

"Yes!" She squeaked, throwing herself as far from the door as possible. "Just… dropped my… phone?"

Right. Like she’d just yeeted it at the back of the fucking door.

There was a long, painful moment of quiet, and then Nicole’s footsteps sounded as they crossed the hall and Waverly exhaled heavily, relief washing through her chest. Then the fucking grunting started again. She flushed the toilet just to cover the sound.

She let the shower run far too cold, the bitter sting a welcome relief for the heat of lust and shame that burned beneath her skin. Even with the ice cold water gripping her every nerve, she was still completely engulfed in thoughts of Nicole and those delicious curves and the rough burr of her teasing voice. Her mind was full of relentless filth, and she needed, quite frankly, to come. Hard and fast. 

She trailed her fingers down over her stomach and onto flesh that burned hot despite the ice of the water. She let them linger on her pulsing clit for the briefest of moments, before she groaned, throwing her head back and switching off the shower.

_Enough._

Nicole was her _roommate._ Her tenant. Hopefully, her friend! Not to mention, literally _right_ outside the door. 

She dragged herself from the shower cursing under her breath as she realised she'd locked herself in in her panic without her robe, and with only a small bath towel that she knew would barely cover her ass. She sighed, wrapping the small piece of material the best she could around her still damp body, and slowly unlocked the bathroom door.

She clutched tightly at her tiny towel as she stepped into the hallway, instantly meeting the unsuspecting gaze of her roommate, mid pull-up. Nicole’s eyes widened as they dropped over Waverly’s body, and she lost her grip on the bar, stumbling gracelessly into the doorframe as she tried to catch her fall. 

“You okay there, Nic?” 

“Yep!” 

Waverly bit her cheek as Nicole flushed deep red, leaning casually against the door frame in an effort to style out her fall.

Waverly smirked. She kept her eyes on Nicole’s, almost challenging her as she took a tentative step forward. She bit her lip to stop her giggle as the redhead immediately stepped back, flailing once more as she stumbled on the edge of the yoga mat that lay on the floor of her bedroom behind her. Waverly quirked an eyebrow, her grin breaking as Nicole swallowed visibly, her blush spreading in telltale patches across her chest and her neck.

“I think maybe I overdid it a little, my l-legs are a little shaky. And…” Nicole's brow furrowed and she winced slightly as she looked between the bar and her hands, her ears flaming brighter than Waverly had seen them yet. “My… arms. Nice towel. Is it new? _Lovely_ colour.” 

There was a long moment of silence. Waverly grinned widely as she watched Nicole in the grips of her flustered panic, _thoroughly_ enjoying the unexpected reversal of their roles.

“Are you objectifying me, Haught?”

“Absolutely not.” Nicole bit her lip, huffing out a laugh through a resigned grin. “I am a feminist, I would _never._ ” 

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly tried on way too many outfit options for an evening at home with someone she didn’t _even_ have a crush on. 

She decided eventually on acid wash jeans, because she couldn’t make it look like she’d tried _too_ hard, but a black crop top under an open, flowing white shirt, leaving her abs on display. Because just _maybe_ those porcelain cheeks might get a little flustered again, and that was always good for a girl's ego, right?

By the time she had applied a little make up for good measure, and made her way out into the kitchen, Nicole was already in the garden lighting the firepit. Waverly watched her for a moment through the large floor to ceiling windows. She looked effortlessly sexy in ripped dark jeans that hugged tight over the curves of her ass, and the way the material of her short sleeved shirt pulled tight over her strong shoulders stirred something between Waverly’s legs that she could _really_ do without right now. She slammed her eyes shut. 

Jesus, _enough_. Again.

Enough of this. Anyone would think she had a crush.

Which would be ridiculous

Because she absolutely did not.

She shook her head and turned her attention to the fridge. Shoving her phone in her pocket, and grabbing the crate of beers she had bought on her way home from the station, she headed out into the garden.

Waverly took a lot of pride in her garden. The loosely named ‘firepit’, was a bed of lava rock that ran along the centre of a gladstone coffee table, taking pride of place on a raised patio to the corner of the garden. The patio was enclosed on three sides by potted plants strung with fairy lights, and a large rattan corner couch boasted two of the enclosed sides. The third side gave home to two swinging pod chairs, both filled with cushions and blankets. The open side led down slate grey steps onto a winding path around to the house, lit on either side by solar lights. The effect was a warm glow that somehow reminded Waverly of both autumnal afternoons on her family’s homestead, and summer nights in the mediteranean. 

Nicole was already swinging gently in one of the hanging pods, flicking through her phone as Waverly made her way up to the patio. The brunette tried to ignore the preposterous butterflies that beat in her stomach as warm eyes and a bright smile lit up as she approached, that god forsaken dimple intent on luring her in. She busied herself cracking a bottle of beer open, and offered it out to Nicole, her eyebrow quirked in question. She laughed as the redhead made a deliberate show of swinging the chair forward to receive it. Nicole grinned, holding the bottle out to clink against Waverly’s as the brunette settled back into the pod chair facing her.

"Which delicacy can I interest you in, Miss Earp?” Nicole held her phone up. “Chinese, Indian, or pizza?"

"I could definitely go for Chinese right now?" 

"Works for me!" Nicole grinned. She pressed a few keys on her phone, and handed it over for Waverly to make her selections. 

"So, how was your day?" Nicole’s voice was sweetness and light, but her lips curled into a frankly _dirty_ smirk as she leaned back against the edge of the pod, sipping her beer just _way_ too cockily for Waverly’s liking. "Go anywhere _exciting?_ "

"I had a little trip to the fire station." Waverly smirked as she lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. "Was hoping to ogle some hot firefighters."

"Oh yeah?" Nicole raised her eyebrows, a shit eating grin spreading across her dimpled cheeks.

"Mmm. Was a bit of a let down really, there didn't seem to be any." 

Nicole's eyes narrowed as she tutted indignantly, her lips curling playfully even as her face twisted into a dismissive scoff.

" _Lying_ to me, Earp." She shook her head, an overly derisive disappointment plastered across her face. "We can't build something beautiful on a bed of lies." 

Waverly kicked Nicole’s pod chair so that it spun the redhead away from her. There was a moment's pause, before the pod turned slowly back around, Nicole's smug grin coming back into view. Waverly rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t fight the obvious amusement tugging at her lips.

"How about you, hero? How was your day?"

"Downright heroic, as always," Nicole deadpanned. "You know, everyone always thinks firefighters rescue cats from trees all day. I don't know where it comes from, it basically never happens. Cats are really agile creatures, they can get themselves out of all kinds of tight spots. You have no idea how infrequently we actually rescue cats from trees, honestly. It's almost _never_."

Waverly bit her cheek as she looked blankly at her roommate for a long moment, before she nodded slowly, holding the redhead’s equally impassive gaze.

"What did you do today Nicole?"

"This morning I used our smallest ladder to rescue a cat from a tree," Nicole grinned as Waverly laughed. "But _then_ I had this weird encounter where this girl came down to the station looking to ogle some hot firefighters, and _I_ came along at _just_ the right time." 

Waverly groaned through a laugh, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the side of the pod.

"I’m telling you, she _wanted_ me…"

"Fuck _off_!" Waverly blushed, her laughter stronger but her stomach flipping at the accuracy of the firefighter's words. "Asshole." 

She kicked Nicole’s pod chair again, the redhead flailing as she tried and failed to catch herself before she could spin. Waverly kicked it again for good measure. 

Nicole chuckled as she spun herself back around, but she didn't retort. A choice that was intriguingly endearing to Waverly, and she found a soft, bashful smile on her face before she could stop it. Growing up with two older siblings left Waverly no stranger to teasing, but when they did it she'd always felt laughed at. Like she was the joke. When Nicole teased her, she felt laughed _with_. Like she was _in_ on the joke, and she made a mental note to tell her one day just how much she appreciated her ability to toe the line without crossing it. To know which buttons to press to make her laugh and blush, without pushing her into embarrassment or discomfort.

There was a moment of easy quiet as Waverly passed the phone back and Nicole finished up the order, before pushing it behind her into her chair. She leaned back, folding her legs up into the side of the pod, and fixed warm, curious eyes on Waverly's.

“What’s going well for you in your life right now, Waverly Earp?”

Waverly huffed out a soft chuckle at the way the open-ended question was so specifically positive. _Such_ a goddamn charmer.

“ _Well_ , I’ve bought this beautiful little house, and I’ve got this new roommate who seems pretty cool so far.” She grinned as Nicole nodded enthusiastically. “She’s not done anything to piss me off just yet, anyway.”

“What would piss you off in a roommate?” Nicole took a sip of her beer, her eyebrows raised over the brim of the bottle. She shrugged as she lowered it back down. “Asking for a friend.”

“Half naked workouts and practically drooling over me in a towel.”

Nicole laughed openly and nodded in acceptance, her eyes sparkling as she took another sip of her beer.

“I do _not_ know what you mean when you speak of this drooling.” Nicole held her hands out in mock defense, a mischievous grin on her lips. “But I _guess_ I can wear more clothes around the house."

Waverly’s eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, biting back her grin.

“You will do _no_ such thing.”

Nicole's eyebrow shot up, an intentionally hopeful smirk crossing her lips.

“Less?”

_Fucking hell._

“Don’t push it,” Waverly scolded, pushing her butterflies down as her cheeks broke instantly into a grin. “To answer your question, just disrespect for the space or for me, I guess. Also kicking puppies, that’s a big no-no.” 

There was a gentle cough as Nicole laughed through a mouthful of beer, and she held a hand up in an earnest girl scout promise sign that quite literally _melted_ Waverly’s heart.

“Seriously though, all I really wanted when I took the ad out was for someone who wanted to live _with_ me. Not just in my house, you know? So far you’re doing a pretty good job.” 

Nicole's eyes softened, her earnest smile pulling her dimples deeper than Waverly could have thought possible. God, she really was beautiful. 

“Who do you have in your life that matters to you?”

Again, the question took Waverly by surprise. The delicateness of the wording; the way that she didn't ask specifically about family, or friends, or a partner. Nicole left the question open for Waverly to answer however she felt comfortable, and the brunette couldn't help but feel drawn to her for it.  
  
“I have some friends I couldn’t live without. Chrissy and Jeremy are my lifelines. I have my Aunt Gus, and _now_ I have my sister Wynonna. We’re _so_ close, though we weren’t always.”

“What’s she like?” Nicole’s voice was soft, earnest interest clear in her warm gaze. 

Waverly swallowed thickly, endeared emotion rising in the back of her throat. She was so used to 'where are your parents', and 'why weren't you close with your sister', and 'tell me about your traumatic past', that the absence of these questions pulled unexpectedly in her chest.

“She’s a livewire.” She grinned. “My parents were kinda absent when we were kids. My Mom left when we were really young, and my Dad was a drunk, and died when I was six. Wynonna is a bit older, and she was in and out of institutions a lot. Then when she was 17 she ran off to Europe and I didn’t see her for seven years. When she came back I fully expected her to have learned to take care of herself, you know?"

She was surprised by how easily the explanation fell from her lips. Sometimes her past hurt her, but other times it was just that. Her past. Something to explain her present. Usually she would avoid the topic; avoid the sympathy that would be laid so thickly onto her at the first mention of her family situation, but something about Nicole made her feel relaxed. Like she could say as much or as little as she needed to. Expectation or judgement free. She chuckled softly.

"The night she came back, she was _so_ desperate to reconnect with me. She rented a movie and made homemade pizza - a recipe she said she'd learned working in an independent restaurant in Italy. Fresh tossed dough and all, and I was _really_ impressed. Then the oven beeped, and she deadass looked at me, all anxious and wide eyed, and said 'oh shit, we don't have a pizza peel, look away now.' Then opened the oven and pulled the pizza out with her _bare_ hands! Because she _didn't have a pizza peel!_ The screams could have been heard in Italy if they'd really focused.”

“ _Fucking_ hell!” Nicole’s eyes crinkled as she laughed. "Does she still have hands?"

“Hands, yes. Brain cells, I'm not sure. I don’t know how she survived seven years, honestly.” Waverly shook her head as her laughter subsided. “How about you? Who do you have?”

“I have some friends that mean a lot to me, but they’re kinda dotted across the globe so I don’t see them a lot. I haven’t spoken to my family in a long time, so it's just me really." Nicole spoke quietly, but there was an assured tone to her voice that carried the quiet strength of a person who has made peace with their past. “This is why I wanted a roommate! I’m a strong independent woman, but everyone needs a good cuddlin’ once in a while.” 

She grinned as Waverly giggled.

“I’m _not_ sure that was part of this agreement, Haught,” Waverly teased.

Nicole pouted, and Waverly's breath hitched.

 _God_ , that was dangerous. 

She pushed her hands beneath her own thighs, lest she find her fingers tracing the adorable crease in the redhead’s brow, or pulling at her jutted bottom lip. The expression was quite possibly the cutest thing Waverly had ever seen, and she was pretty sure _she_ would kick a puppy if that pout demanded it.

“You’d be missing out." Nicole shrugged. "I’m a _great_ cuddler!”

“And _so_ humble with it.” Waverly grinned.

“I’ll win you round eventually, Earp.”

“I’ve no doubt.”

Waverly’s last words were hushed; a whispered confession that she wasn't really sure was meant for Nicole’s ears, but the way the redhead’s eyes softened and her lips curled into a shy smile made it difficult to care.

The air felt thick for a moment, before Nicole laughed and shook her head. She adjusted herself back into her chair, eyeing Waverly curiously.

“What’s your guilty pleasure?” The mischievous smirk was back. “Besides me in my uniform."

Waverly scowled. She kicked at the chair, but Nicole was quicker this time, grabbing the brunette’s leg and using its momentum to send Waverly spinning instead. 

" _Conceited._ " Waverly threw the cap of her beer bottle at Nicole as she turned herself back to face her. "Trashy dating shows.”

“Oh _shit_.” Nicole jumped upright, her eyes comically wide. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to find someone I can order pizzas and scream at Love Island with?”

“You’re a woman after my own heart, Nic." Waverly chuckled. “What about you?”  
  
“ _Really_ cheesy pop music." Nicole shuddered, her face deliberately serious. "Never tell anyone this, Earp. I have a reputation to uphold. If anyone asks, I like Johnny Cash and Queens of the Stone Age.”

The crunch of tires on the gravel sounded over Waverly’s responding giggle. A giggle that only intensified as Nicole jumped up immediately, a high pitched hum of excitement ringing in the back of her throat.

"You're ridiculous, Haught." 

Waverly shouted after her as she trotted merrily down the path to meet the delivery. She rolled her eyes fondly at the fading response.

"A girl's love for her food is no ridiculous matter, Earp."

Waverly hoisted herself up, collected the empty glass bottles, and headed into the house to grab plates and cutlery. 

She returned to find Nicole chewing on a spring roll and pulling a cheesy music playlist up on her phone. The redhead waggled her eyebrows as the opening bars of Mysterious Girl burst through the phone's speakers. 

Waverly screwed her face up. 

“What, you don’t like this song?” Nicole dropped her jaw in feigned shock.

“I lost my virginity to this song.”

Nicole choked on her spring roll as she creased into laughter, falling back onto the corner couch. Waverly grinned.

“Worst part was I think it was a _choice._ It was on a playlist titled ‘The Big Moment’, playing in the back of a Jeep Wrangler Sport after a high school dance.” Waverly cringed, imitating a shiver. “In _February._ ”

A deep warmth spread through Waverly’s chest at the sight and the sound of Nicole’s laughter. The redhead’s arms crossed over her stomach and her eyes creased, her dimples more pronounced than ever, and Waverly wasn't sure she'd ever seen anyone look so beautiful. Nicole wiped the corners of her eyes as her giggles subsided.

“If it makes you feel any better, my first time was _completely_ silent. From start to finish.” Nicole winced.

"Wh…" Waverly cut her own words off with her laughter as the magnitude of that image took its place in her mind. "Not even…"

"Completely. _Silent_."

Waverly's eyes grew blurry as she struggled to control her laughter, the redhead’s traumatised face doing nothing to stem the giggles.

“Nothing has ever been more awkward.” Nicole grinned, her eyes sparkling as they watched Waverly’s amusement. “I think I’d have preferred a bit of Peter Andre.”

The conversation was so easy and so natural as they ate their food and worked their way through the beers, that it was almost impossible to believe that less than a week ago they had been strangers. The easy teasing and the flirty back and forth was consistently prevalent, but Waverly was almost overwhelmed by how quickly a deeper kind of trust, and an honest connection seemed to be growing between them.

Not to mention the fact that Nicole’s soft smile, and the light of the fire and the fairy lights were doing exquisite things to the redhead’s beauty and it was genuinely hurting Waverly’s chest.

She shivered.

_Shit._

“You cold?” Nicole frowned. 

_No._

“I am almost always cold.”

Nicole sat forwards, wriggling her brows, and Waverly narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

_“What?”_

“Wanna go watch Flirty Dancing and cuddle?”

Waverly giggled. An all out coy giggle, and she knew it was the girliest, giddiest thing she’d done all evening. And she knew _exactly_ why.

“Was that adorable sound a yes?” Nicole bit her lip as she raised her eyebrows hopefully.

“Has anyone ever told you that you're ridiculous?" Waverly scolded, then let her lips spread slowly into a grin. “Can we have popcorn?”

Nicole beamed, pulling a fist triumphantly at her side as she jumped up.

“Go put your biggest hoodie on. I’ll put the fire out like the hero that I am.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly settled back on the couch, pointing the remote at the TV screen as she pulled up the show. She wasn’t convinced Nicole had been serious about the cuddling. It seemed a _lot_ for two friends who had just met, but her stomach was twisting itself into constrictor knots at the possibility. She could barely contain herself when Nicole was six feet away, so she was more than a little afraid that she might climb into the redhead’s clothes if she was quite literally wrapped around her. At very least, she would likely pass out. She shuffled to and from Nicole’s side of the couch no less than five times, before deliberately placing herself in what she deemed was a safe, neutral position. She sat on her own side, leaving a gap between herself and the arm just big enough for Nicole, but far enough over that the redhead could sit on the opposite end without it being too obviously awkward. Nicole’s footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Waverly could practically hear her own heart, it was beating so hard. 

Her panic only increased tenfold as Nicole barreled into the room in a hoodie and oversized sweat shorts, and jumped immediately into the tiny gap next to the brunette. Waverly’s gaze followed the movement as Nicole lifted her arm, a blinding grin on her lips and a hopeful question in her eyes. Waverly’s body descended into immediate physical turmoil. Her palms prickled with sweat, heat bubbling low in her stomach, and her head already felt a little hazy, and yet somehow she still couldn’t help but laugh. She rolled her eyes, steeled her nerves, and nestled herself into Nicole’s side.

She immediately froze.

Oh _god._

Of _course_ Nicole would smell this good. Like vanilla, and sandalwood, and the faint tint of smoke and char. Waverly held her breath, her jaw clenched and her muscles tensed in a desperate effort to stop herself from burying her face into Nicole’s neck and inhaling. She was confident she had never been so uncomfortable. Her hands were clasped tightly in her own lap, her side rigid as it lay flush against Nicole’s. Her waist was twisted in an almost inhuman manner as she tried her level best to keep her hips and her throbbing thighs as far from Nicole’s body as she possibly could, for fear they might move of their own accord and mount the redhead’s lap.

Nicole’s body was _so_ soft and warm pressed against Waverly’s, and her breath ghosted over the top of the brunette’s head as she spoke, erupting goosebumps over every millimetre of her skin.

“Is this weird?”

"Yes," Waverly mumbled, the corners of her lips twitching as she felt rather than heard Nicole chuckle.

"Do you want to stop?" Nicole shuffled, pulling back slightly in an effort to look at Waverly’s face.

"No." Waverly turned her face, hiding her blush in Nicole’s side.

"You sure? Not to be critical but you kinda feel like a board."

Waverly laughed, slapping Nicole’s thigh as the redhead grinned. 

"It's really okay if you're uncomfortable, I'm _so_ aware that I'm pushing my luck. Frankly, I'm amazed you even agreed."

Waverly grinned, shaking her head. Her stomach was still somersaulting, but there was just something about the way Nicole teased her that seemed to make it feel okay to be a bit of a mess. She resigned herself, settling back into Nicole’s side and wrapping her arm around her waist. Her whole body tingled, and she hoped the redhead couldn’t feel how fast her heart was beating.

"Shut up and show me these great cuddles you're so humble about."

Waverly felt her body relax into Nicole’s, the gaps between them seeming to close naturally as they watched the dating show. It was one of Waverly’s favourites; there was something inherently romantic and sensual about the idea of meeting someone through the physicality of dance. Real, choreographed dance, and not a sweaty grind in a crowded club. She watched in awe as one couple pulled off a particularly impressive lift on the end of a conveniently deserted pier. 

"We could totally do that." Nicole mumbled, her voice low and breathy as she feigned a scoff. "Probably."

Waverly huffed out a soft giggle.

" _I_ could most definitely do that. I was head cheerleader in high school."

Nicole’s chest hitched and she stilled, saying nothing in response for a long moment. Waverly grinned.

"Thinking about that?" 

"Nope." Nicole’s voice was strained, an audible break clear in it.

"Perv," Waverly teased.

"Asshole." Nicole scowled, nudging Waverly playfully with her hip. "Hey, remember when I was a firefighter?"

Waverly laughed loudly, shoving Nicole’s side in response.

"Asshole, yourself."

They watched a few episodes in relative quiet, passing a few quips here and there, but otherwise neither feeling the need to speak. Waverly tried desperately not to panic over the way Nicole’s fingers absently stroked the top of her arm, or the way she could feel the rise and fall of the redhead’s breathing under her own hand. She tried desperately not to think about how normal and natural and fucking amazing it felt to be wrapped in her roommate’s arms this way, despite maybe being more than a little unusual.

It would be fine, right?

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

  
Waverly woke with the early morning light, tucked comfortably under a blanket. There was a warm feeling buzzing gently in her chest, and for a blissful moment she couldn’t remember why she felt so happy. She opened her eyes slowly, her brows furrowing as her surroundings registered in her hazy brain. The floor to ceiling windows of the living room stretched out before her, and the fabric of the couch felt unfamiliar beneath her sleep-warm skin. She rolled over, the coffee table coming into view as her eyes blinked into focus. She sat up, her brows furrowing further as she spotted the still steaming coffee flask, and the neatly handwritten note that sat beside it. 

_You looked too cute to wake._ _  
__Have a great day._ _  
__N x_

She broke into a giddy grin, her chest swelling, before her brain caught up with her reality and she groaned, immediately burying her head beneath the blanket. 

Well. 

_Shit._

This was absolutely not fine.

It was wholly, entirely, one thousand percent, indisputably a crush.

  
  



	4. Just Don’t Even Say It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you for the feedback for this fic! I had this in my head as an easy, quick fluff fic that I could throw out before I tackle a Christmas fic, and I was not expecting the love for it. Made my 2020 easily!! Love!!
> 
> Shout out to Artemis_17 for this chapter, for reminding me that firefighter calendars are a thing 😉 and for helping shape that little journey! 
> 
> Happy Sunday 😊

In the second week of living with Nicole Haught, Waverly arrived home from work on a Monday night to find her sexy, thoughtful, considerate, firefighting roommate _cleaning the fucking chimney._

In sweat shorts and a very tight, very sooty tank. 

"Hey, Wave!"

Nicole's muffled voice called out from the depths of the fireplace. Her back and her exposed shoulders strained as she worked the sweep brush, rendering Waverly unable to do anything but hum in response. She sighed, sinking down onto the couch in direct view of the perfectly rounded curves of the redhead’s ass.

Waverly was so lost in her own fantasies that she barely noticed her roommate turn around, _or_ the soft cough that the redhead gave in an effort to gain her attention. Until she cleared her throat for the second time, her eyebrow quirked over the dust mask that protected her lower face, and somehow Waverly could _feel_ the smirk buried below the fabric.

Waverly blushed, knowing damn well her flushed cheeks and wide eyes betrayed every one of her inner thoughts. She swallowed thickly, her palms growing clammy under the knowing gaze of mocha eyes, and did the only thing she could in that moment. She threw a playground insult.

“This is an improvement.” She kept her expression deadpan, waving a hand around the half of Nicole’s face covered by her dust mask.

Nicole narrowed her eyes, scowling playfully as she pulled the mask down.

“You talk a big game for someone who just swooned over my ass.”

“I have never _once_ looked at your ass," Waverly huffed. Her eyes immediately dropped to the curves of Nicole’s chest, and she blushed deeply.

Nicole grinned, flexing her biceps as she cheekily lifted the hem of her tank above her stomach, using the material to wipe the soot from her face. Waverly bit her lip, her body committing the ultimate betrayal as an unmistakable strangled sound of approval forced its way from the back of her throat. She cringed. 

_Damn_ her sexuality to all hell.

“Fuck you,” she grumbled, her lips twitching at the triumphant grin on Nicole’s face.

She flounced from the room, her stomach flipping and a soft chuckle falling from her lips at the grin she could hear in the redhead’s voice as it called after her.

“At least buy me dinner first, Earp.”

It had been like this all week. The flirty back and forth was only getting more outrageous the more comfortable they grew around each other, and so was Waverly’s crush. Between the blatant heat, and the softer trust that continued to grow between them as they connected, she had given up trying to pretend she wasn’t an incompetent mess whenever Nicole so much as _breathed_ a little sexier. Instead, it had become an unspoken game. A challenge. 

A goddamn _war._

Waverly grinned as she changed, swapping her work clothes for her a deep red sports bra and black yoga pants, and grabbing her mat before heading back out to the living room. 

She could feel Nicole’s eyes tracing her, but she refused to meet them as she made a deliberate show of rolling her mat out in front of the couch, making sure the angle was _just_ right to be in her roommate’s direct line of sight whenever her head wasn’t buried in the fireplace. She closed her eyes, determined not to look at the redhead as she began her stretches. She bit back a grin, her chest swelling with smug pride at the lack of sound from the fireplace, suggesting that Nicole was yet to move. 

“Just gonna go ahead and do that right here, huh?” Nicole’s knowing tone was teasing as she called Waverly out, but her voice was low, a subtle break betraying the impact that the brunette knew she was having.

“I’m sorry, is this distracting you?” Waverly kept her voice honeyed, sweetness and light.

“No...”

Waverly cracked an eye open, grinning as Nicole started, turning hastily back to the chimney and fumbling with the sweep brush.

As the redhead continued her work, Waverly upped the ante. She turned around, her back to Nicole as she lifted herself up on her forearms, and then slowly raised her body into a Scorpion pose. The shuffling behind her stopped again, and she chuckled softly. She held her pose for a minute, then lowered her legs, rolling her body deliberately slowly as she sank her hips into the floor. She grinned triumphantly as an immediate thud and a yelp sounded behind her. She turned around, her eyes widening and her stomach shaking as she held back her laughter.

Nicole was _covered_ in soot. 

Waverly bit her cheek as her eyes roamed the blackened red hair and stained skin, down to the now filthy grey of her tank and the black of her shoulders. Nicole screwed her eyes shut, her lips drawn tight, and sighed heavily through her nose.

"Do you need to be hosed down, firefighter?" Waverly grinned.

“Asshole,” Nicole mumbled, her shoulders deflating as she shook her head. “I’ve waited two weeks for the perfect opportunity to use that line.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the third week, Waverly arrived home on a Thursday night to the smell of garlic and thyme filling the kitchen, and some kind of ridiculous miniature golf course winding its way across the entirety of the living room floor. She found her roommate behind the couch, lining up a tiny, plastic golf ball on a suction cup tee.

“What are you doing?” Waverly leaned against the doorway, chuckling as the redhead jumped.

Nicole beamed brightly at her as she recovered, giving a frankly adorable half wave in greeting. Why did such _stupid_ things have to flip Waverly’s stomach _so_ damn hard?

“Cooking my favourite roommate _,”_ Nicole tilted her head towards Waverly with a smirk, “the best Mushroom Stroganoff you will ever eat in your life.”

“Adorable.” Waverly grinned. “But I meant with the tiny Cabot Links.”

“Now I don’t know if you’ve ever played miniature golf, Earp, but it’s a _very_ tricky little game.” Nicole’s eyes sparkled playfully as her face took on a serious expression, and she held up the most pathetic looking little plastic golf club Waverly had ever seen. “I think it’s probably best I show you how to swing this thing.”

Waverly scoffed, grabbing the club from Nicole’s hands and nudging her aside with her hip. She made a deliberate effort to wriggle her ass as she lined up her shot, and whooped as she immediately putted the tiny ball straight over the plastic arch and into the half-ring that represented the hole. 

Hole-in-one. 

Nicole watched her for a moment, her face blank. She shrugged.

“Well that’s a shame.”

“A shame?” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

“I was hoping to get all close and personal and show you how to swing.” 

Waverly’s stomach dropped, heat searing instantly between her thighs at the thought of Nicole pressed up close behind her, her arms wrapped around her own, her hips tight against the brunette’s ass as she guided their movements.

“ _Fluke_ ,” she blurted.

“Nope.” Nicole shook her head, holding her hands up in dismissal.

“It was a complete fluke, which end is the handle?” Waverly screwed her face up, holding the club out between a thumb and forefinger, looking at it with mock bewilderment.

“Lies.”

Waverly took another swing, deliberately letting go of the handle as she brought the club forwards. She winced as it flew _at_ Nicole, and the redhead hurtled herself melodramatically over the back of the couch to avoid being hit. 

“A _violent_ lie.”

Waverly scrambled to retrieve the club, squealing as Nicole intercepted, grabbing her waist and hauling her over her shoulder in a fireman's lift. She only _half_ bothered to struggle. If that.

“Your Stroganoff awaits, hustler.” Nicole held her tight as she carried her into the kitchen, Waverly no longer even pretending to fight her. “You can beat me with your tiny stick after dinner.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the fourth week, Waverly was at work when the fire alarm went off. 

She furrowed her brows, spinning round on her chair and standing up so that she could see over the partitions of the booth she shared with Chrissy and Jeremy. She scanned her eyes across the publishing office. There wasn’t a planned drill today. She was the fire marshall, she should know if there was. She looked first at Chrissy, then at Jeremy, who both shrugged, standing sluggishly to pull on their coats.

Waverly reached under her desk, pulling out the ridiculously oversized, yellow high-vis Fire Marshall’s jacket that she was instructed to wear in these situations. The jacket dwarfed her, the huge red lettering over the back spelling out ‘Fire Marshall’ creasing and distorting as the fabric folded over itself on her tiny frame.

“Alright, everybody outside, this is not a drill!”

A frighteningly unhurried mix of groans and shuffles and apologetically ended phone calls rang out across the office as Waverly ushered her colleagues out of the building and across the small car park to the designated assembly point, Jeremy and Chrissy close behind her urging on the stragglers.

She was halfway through taking the roll call when the fire truck roared into the lot, sirens blaring and blue lights flashing.

 _Oh_ pat a badger and call her Mary, this was _not_ what she needed right now. 

She might have been reluctantly forced to admit to _herself_ that she had a catatonic crush on her roommate, but she was a long way from confessing this to her friends. 

Her _best_ friends. 

Who could read her like a pop-up book for toddlers.

She felt her cheeks flush dark, and the heat trickle between her thighs, and she pronounced at least three names wrong as she watched Nicole jump from the truck, shouting orders at her colleagues as they ran into the building. Then she read her own name. As Wavery. 

“Jesus, _Wavery_ , was that your roommate?” 

Chrissy's voice sounded in Waverly’s ears, but the syllables meant nothing. Her brain was dead on its feet in the middle of a graphic fantasy involving Nicole in her trousers and suspenders, the coat open over sexy black lingerie, the firefighter groaning as the brunette gave her a lap dance in her helmet.

She started as Chrissy shoved her.

“What?”

“Oh, I was just asking if that’s your big, fat, ginormous crush?” Chrissy smirked.

“No.”

It was a stubborn reflex. She didn't even know _why_ she was bothering. 

“ _So_ you _do_ have a crush?” Jeremy wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he appeared at her opposite side.

“No!”

"I see, I see." Jeremy nodded, and Waverly blushed deeper. “So what I’m hearing is, you’re desperately pining after your sexy roommate?”

“ _No!_ ”

“ _Okay,_ okay!” Jeremy held his hands up in defense, a knowing smirk across his lips. 

There was a pause for a brief moment, and Waverly held her breath. She knew exactly what was coming, and she rolled her eyes before the words even left Chrissy's mouth.

“So how long have you had your giant crush?”

“Fuck off, I do not have a crush on Nicole!”

It was weak, and she knew it. She turned away from the building, fixing her eyes on the roll call clipboard as she willed her flushed cheeks to calm down

“I don’t wish to alarm you, but Waverly’s super hot crush is heading this way.” Jeremy grinned.

Oh for _fuck_ sake.

She turned back to the building, her stomach flipping as she met Nicole’s eyes and the redhead’s cheeks broke into a dimpled grin. The firefighter’s helmet was tucked under her arm, wispy tousles of red hair escaping the ruffled plait that had sat underneath it. The thick coat was fastened up below her chin, and Waverly was profoundly relieved that the suspenders were hidden from her traitorous eyes. 

“I was going to ask who the fire marshall is around here,” Nicole grinned, her eyes dropping over Waverly’s body as she drew closer. “But this very _delectable_ piece of fashion has made my job _much_ easier.”

“Yep, that’s me.” Waverly cringed. _Why_ was her voice so high? “Fire marshall. Marshall of fire.”

The corners of Nicole’s mouth twitched, and her eyes flicked to Waverly’s lips for the _briefest_ of seconds before they found her gaze again, a light amusement dancing behind them. Waverly blushed, hyper aware of the burning eyes of her best friends not two feet behind her.

“Wh-what’s the…” She gestured her hands aimlessly in the direction of the building in a desperate effort to take some control back of her flustered body. “The situation?”

“Right! The situation. Well, Miss Earp, this was not a false alarm.” 

Nicole’s voice changed almost instantly. There was something lower in its register; something authoritative that seeped into Waverly’s veins like molten lava. She gripped the edges of her clipboard tightly, praying to Vulcan and Hephaestus that her heaving chest and burning skin weren’t as obvious as they felt.

“There was a toaster on fire in the second floor kitchen. Luckily the fire was only small and we were able to put it out almost instantly, but I do need to let you know that your fire extinguisher was placed much too close to the kitchen equipment. It should be placed by the door, to allow easy access without too much risk of blockage from smoke or flames.”

Waverly was pretty sure _she_ was on fire. She certainly hadn’t ever expected to find herself _so_ turned on by someone talking about toasters and fire extinguishers, but here she was, ready to rip her own pants off and present herself on the car park tarmac. She swallowed thickly.

“Can I trust you to take care of the readjustment of the safety equipment?” Nicole raised a stern eyebrow, her voice firm but calm, and her eyes still soft.

“Y-yes, I’ll sort it, Sir.” Waverly stuttered. 

She blanched immediately, and her desperate attempts to correct _that_ humiliating mistake only made the giant metaphorical hole she stood in feel deeper.

“O-officer. _Nicole._ ”

For _fuck_ sake. 

She might as well have thrown in a Daddy or two while she was at it.

She blushed deeply, her shoulders sinking in defeat as Nicole visibly bit back her laughter, her eyes glistening with amusement.

“If you could just sign here, please, and then you’re good to re-enter the building.” 

Nicole handed her own clipboard over to Waverly, pointing out the box that she needed to print in, and waited quietly for her to sign her name. She grinned as she took the board back, her voice lighter once more as she continued. 

“Oh, and may I remind you, Miss Earp, that some kinks are better left in the bedroom.”

“Oh, _fuck_ off!” Waverly’s ears reddened, but she grinned at the familiar teasing tone in her roommate’s voice. She gestured with one hand at Nicole’s uniform, allowing her eyes to drop openly over it. “I _can't_ talk to you when you're wearing that.”

“Well, come talk to me tonight when I'm _not_ wearing it then.” Nicole dropped her voice, wriggling her eyebrows, and chuckled as Waverly scowled.

“Asshole.”

Nicole smirked, then her eyes flicked up over Waverly’s shoulder for the first time and she grinned.

“Hey, Jeremy, Chrissy.” She raised her clipboard in greeting as she spoke their names, a wide, dimpled smile across her face. "Presumably."

"Hey, Nicole!" Jeremy beamed as he waved back.

“Sir.” Chrissy smirked, giving a formal salute, and Nicole chuckled, her eyes flicking back to Waverly’s in amusement. 

Waverly hid her face with her clipboard.

“See you tonight, Wave.” Nicole winked, throwing one last dimpled grin in Waverly’s direction before she turned to head back to the truck and her colleagues.

Waverly watched her go. 

Her ass. She watched her ass go.

“So, what I’m hearing is…” Jeremy's arm was back around her shoulder, and he pronounced every word with deliberate precision, his grin audible in his voice.

“Don’t.” Waverly cut him off with a resigned sigh. “Don’t even say it.”  
  


⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the fifth week, all of Waverly’s Christmasses came at once.

She had made her regular trip into the town's small library, intent on returning her latest load of period drama books and fishing out her next reads. The library was unusually busy, even for a Saturday, and she perused the small charity purchase stall beside the front desk as she waited in line to complete her check out.

The noise she made was almost inhuman. 

_No._

_Way._

Her heart hammered in her throat, threatening to burst forth in the girliest scream she was capable of making. _This_ was a piece of raw gold that would undoubtedly stay a part of her very soul until her blood ran dry. 

She grinned, her fingers almost trembling with giddy excitement as she picked up the square wall calendar, the swirled white letters across the front almost mocking her in their dramatically breathtaking possibilities.

_Purgatory’s Finest, Emergency Services 2021_

She turned it over, her mouth dry with anticipation as she scanned the thumbnails. Her heart went from a full rodeo gallop to a lifeless standstill, and she gripped the edge of the stall to keep from passing out, her blood rushing to her core and her pulse pounding in her ears as she found what she was looking for.

She bought four. Just in case. 

She pinned one in pride of place on the centre of the fridge, the spiral-bound pages open on a genuinely _sickeningly_ sexy image of Purgatory’s goddamn _finest_ firefighter. 

Damp, ruffled red hair flowed over dirt-smeared shoulders, bare but for the straps of a black sports bra. She stood face-on to the camera, her grease-stained abs _just_ visible beneath her soft curves as she tensed. Her stance was wide, her suspenders hanging loosely over the legs of her scuffed, low slung trousers. The _real_ golden ticket though, was the long handled axe crossed behind her neck, the underside of her wrists holding it in place across her shoulders as she flexed her arms.

Waverly licked her lips as she admired the new kitchen feature. She was beyond done lying about this to herself now. She was going for a _really_ long shower before Nicole got home. And it would _not_ be a cold one.

Waverly was spread across the sofa, scrolling aimlessly on her phone when Nicole appeared in the archway between the kitchen and the living room, her eyebrow quirked and her voice deadpan.

“Wave, why is the calendar on March next year?”

“Why not?” Waverly feigned innocence, biting back her smirk.

“It’s the middle of October.”

“I just like March.” Waverly shrugged.

“Right.”

Waverly let the silence hang in the air for a few moments as Nicole flopped heavily onto the couch beside her, her lips twitching softly as she eyed the brunette expectantly.

“Hey, Nicole?” Waverly finally pushed her phone onto the coffee table, turning her full attention to her roommate’s face.

“Yes, Wave.”

“When were you gonna tell me you were Ms. March in the firefighter calendar?” She grinned.

“When I was absolutely certain you weren’t gonna hang a half naked photo of me in our kitchen.”

“So, never?” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

“Never.”

There was another moment of quiet, before Nicole silently hoisted herself from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. Waverly buried her face behind a cushion to conceal her giggles as she heard the redhead groan, then sigh defeatedly. She steeled her face as her roommate’s footsteps made their way back through the kitchen.

“Hey, Wave?”

“Yes, Nic.”

“Why am I _every_ month?”

Waverly giggled, recalling the hour she had spent pasting and printing the same image onto all twelve pages with Jeremy's help.

“It’s better that way.”

Nicole groaned.

“Asshole.”  
  


⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  


In the sixth week of living with Nicole Haught, Waverly was curled up in her pod chair in the garden on a Sunday afternoon, swaddled up under the blankets and reading her book. The late October weather held a bite that was a little too cold to be comfortable, but the crisp smell of Autumn air had always been one of her favourite things, and she loved to embrace it as much as she could. 

She'd been trying to focus her mind on the pages of her book for hours, but all she could think about was Nicole, and she’d brought herself out here in the hopes that the air and the glow of the fairylights would ease her racing mind.

She'd been wrong.

She was in a whole world of trouble, and she was powerless to even want to control it. Nicole was well and truly under her skin, with her sharp wit and her kind eyes and her easy way of making Waverly feel like she was _alive_. Like she mattered the most. If she was honest with herself, the word _crush_ was starting to feel more than a little inadequate.

When they were in their bubble it was the easiest thing in the world for Waverly to lose herself in the flirting and the softness and the closeness, and to forget that it wasn't real; that Nicole wasn't hers to touch, or to kiss, or to think about when she finally closed her bedroom door and writhed beneath her own fingers below the sheets.

But outside of that bubble, the reality was growing harder every day to accept. It was too much, to _want_ Nicole like this, and to feel so _close_ to having her, only to remember that she couldn’t be further. Nicole was her roommate. Her friend. A dream that was far too… _sublime_ to ever be Waverly’s reality. 

"Hey, you."

Waverly jumped slightly as Nicole’s soft voice broke through her thoughts, and she lifted her head towards the sound. The redhead smiled, her dimples somehow even more adorable set in her cold-reddened cheeks, as she made her way up the patio steps with a coffee flask in each hand.

"Hey, yourself." Waverly grinned, the warmth that spread through her in the redhead’s presence instantly chasing the dull ache from her chest. She gratefully accepted the offered flask and lifted the blankets, shuffling herself over in the small pod to make room for Nicole to wrap herself in beside her.

It had become habitual for them to seek physical closeness, cuddling up as they watched the TV, or sat out at the firepit, or lay on the couch til the small hours, talking over wine or beer or some strange cocktail concoction that Nicole had found on Pintrest and insisted on trying. It had become habitual, but the impact on Waverly's blood never seemed to lessen. _Everything_ Nicole did just made her more appealing, and the way her body pressed against her own now as they swung absently was lighting a flaming heat low in Waverly's stomach that went _way_ beyond the warmth of the freshly brewed coffee. 

“I was thinking we should have a games night?” Nicole raised her eyebrows as she pulled back slightly to fix questioning eyes on Waverly's. “I’ve got this friend I know from the station, and maybe you could invite some people?”

Waverly's breath hitched in her throat, and she fought not to let the panic show on her face. A friend? What kind of friend?

Obviously Nicole had friends. Obviously Nicole was _allowed_ friends. Not that it had anything to do with Waverly either way. Obviously. 

But what _kind_ of friend?

A girlfriend? Boyfriend? Oh _god,_ was she gonna have to watch Nicole on a _date?_

Her heated blood was burning under her skin, and the multitude of blankets and the coffee flask and the warm press of Nicole’s body was all suddenly feeling far too much even in spite of the bitter air, and she was sure it was harder to breathe than it had been 30 seconds ago.

Waverly had never actually _asked_ Nicole about her sexuality. She wasn't a complete half-wit, she _knew_ they were outrageously flirty, and she knew the impact she could have on Nicole physically when she wanted to, so she figured the redhead must be at least _somewhat_ attracted to women. And on _some_ level, attracted to _her._ But she also knew that it wasn't completely unheard of for friends to be meaninglessly flirty. Wynonna and Rosita did it all the time! So she'd never asked. Because she was far too scared that Nicole would say she was straight, and crush the tiny part of Waverly that allowed herself to hope that just _maybe_ this _wasn’t_ out of her reach.

Not that it really made the blindest bit of difference which genders Nicole preferred, if Waverly was gonna have to watch her _date_ someone who wasn't her!

She took a deep breath. She had no right to be jealous. Nicole wasn't hers to be jealous over. And even if she was, she had no _reason_ to be jealous. Nicole had said friend. She hadn't even _mentioned_ a date, and Waverly was already planning her escape route to Marrakesh. She really needed to _calm down._

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, fighting to get a grip on her thought process as Nicole’s brow furrowed, and she realised her roommate was waiting for an answer. She forced a wide smile across her face.

“That sounds amazeballs." Her smile grew genuine as Nicole’s warm eyes sparkled and she grinned, pulling Waverly in closer to her side. "Ooh I could make tacos, do you like tacos?” 

The question seemed to spark a mischievous glint in Nicole’s eyes that Waverly didn’t quite understand, but that flirty smirk was one she was all too familiar with, and it set the butterflies racing in her stomach, even if she wasn't quite sure what it was for. She furrowed her brows. 

“Is that a yes?”

“Oh, I _definitely_ like tacos.” Nicole grinned. “Tacos are my favourite.”


	5. I Am So Gay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every single one of you is amazing, thank you for your kudos and your comments and your tweets. It makes me so happy every time my phone pings for this fic!
> 
> My twitter, in case anyone should want it, is @StaceyE706 😊
> 
> Happy Tuesday. Hope you enjoy this... Haught installment 😉

Waverly flicked the switches on Nicole’s fancy coffee machine, her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out which one turned the damn thing on. She'd been using this contraption for nearly seven weeks, and she still couldn’t figure out what a coffee maker could _possibly_ do that would require _this_ many buttons. She had started getting up fifteen minutes earlier in the mornings just to give herself a fighting chance of navigating her roommate’s ridiculous gadgets. 

The coffee machine beeped, and Waverly flicked the switch that she believed would release the jar of steaming liquid. She squealed, cursing loudly as instead, a large spurt of syrup squirted from some stupid nozzle somewhere on the side of the machine, and landed straight in the centre of her chest, staining quickly across her white shirt. She growled.

 _Who_ is _ever_ holding a coffee cup at _that_ fucking angle?

With a heavy sigh, she tugged the shirt over her head and padded over to the laundry. She poured some stain remover onto the thick, caramel blob, and worked the material gently until it ran clean. She left the small patch to soak, shivering slightly as the morning air hit her now exposed torso, goosebumps breaking over her skin. She darted her eyes around the room, looking for a sweater or a shirt she could pull on until she managed to make it back to her room to find a change of clothes. Her stomach flipped as her eyes landed on a full basket on top of the washer-dryer.

She _shouldn't_ , really. She knew full well that none of it was hers. 

Nicole wouldn't _mind_ though, would she? 

The flannel was sat right at the top, it wasn't like she would have to go rooting through her roommate’s washing to find anything. It wasn't weird. 

_Was_ it? 

She trailed her fingers over the green and grey checks, the fabric surprisingly soft to her touch. 

Fuck it. 

She _needed_ something to wear, she couldn’t very well walk back through the house in her bra, that would be simply _absurd._ No, she needed to put this exact shirt on, and so what if it just so happened to smell like vanilla and sandalwood with a faint hint of smoke and char, and so _what_ if that made her heart pound and sent tingles through her every nerve. It wasn't like she was burying her face in the collar and inhaling. Not _at_ all.

Waverly curled herself up on the couch, her fingers wrapped around the coffee she had finally managed to extract from the sadistic machine. She had a few minutes, and if she was honest, she wasn't quite ready to part with the intoxicating smell of Nicole that embraced her as she pulled the shirt close around her torso.

"I-is that my shirt?" 

Waverly started, her cheeks flushing as she flicked her eyes to the sound of her roommate’s voice in the living room doorway. Nicole’s tone was softer than usual, her eyes wide and her cheeks tinted pink as she stepped almost tentatively into the room. Waverly tugged anxiously on the shirt sleeves, unable to read the look in the redhead’s eyes as they roamed the grey and green material.

" _Maybe?_ " She winced, her lips curling into a guilty grin.

"Wh-why?" Nicole swallowed visibly, her eyes almost misty somehow, and Waverly felt her stomach drop as she considered that maybe she'd crossed a line that the redhead wasn't comfortable with.

"I spilled something on mine, I just grabbed the first thing I saw." 

It wasn't _strictly_ a lie, and 'it smells like you' didn't feel like a particularly appropriate thing to say to a roommate. 

"Oh…" Nicole’s voice was hushed, her wide eyes still tracing the shirt as she rubbed the back of her neck in an endearingly nervous gesture.

"I’m sorry, I can go take it off…"

" _No!"_ Nicole blurted, her eyes shooting to Waverly’s and her hand flying out in front of her as if to physically halt the brunette. "I-I like it."

Pink cheeks flushed deep red, and Nicole pulled awkwardly at the collar of her uniform shirt as Waverly’s stomach took an acrobatic deep dive from 35ft. _That_ was _not_ what she had been expecting. 

"I-I mean..." Nicole winced so slightly it wouldn't have been noticeable had Waverly not been watching the way her expressive cheeks tugged at the corners of her lips. "It looks good. On you. You should wear it. T-to work. Or in the house, or-or whatever." She closed her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. "Uh, are we all set for games night tonight?"

"Yeah…" Waverly nodded softly. She wasn't sure how to read the air in the room right now, but she couldn’t help but feel that Nicole was uncomfortable somehow, and she was desperate to meet the redhead back on safe ground. "Chrissy couldn't make it, but Jeremy will be here."

"Perfect! Robin will be here at seven!"

 _Great_. Waverly forced a smile onto her face, pushing down the rising feeling of nausea that twisted in her stomach. Nicole still hadn't said anything to suggest that this was a date, but Waverly couldn’t help the bubbling jealousy that gripped her chest whenever she thought about the possibility. She tugged subconsciously on the shirt, wrapping it tighter around herself as if somehow it could hold her close to Nicole. Anchor her in some way, that would mean that _Robin_ could never take her from her.

Nicole smiled softly, her awed gaze fixed on Waverly for a moment longer before she blinked, shaking her head a little.

"I'm uh…" she pointed over her shoulder with a shy smile. "Work. Have a great day, Wave."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"So you guys work together?" Jeremy gestured between Robin and Nicole almost excitedly as he spoke, his pitch far higher than it needed to be. "You're a firefighter too?" 

Robin had been in Waverly’s home for all of twelve minutes, and he had been nothing but polite and warm and friendly, and he had immediately embraced Jeremy's over excitable nature. _And_ he had brought Tequila to go with the tacos. Twelve minutes, and he already seemed _perfect._

Waverly hated it.

She was already struggling with his stupid handsome face and his ridiculous bright smile, and the way he insisted on calling Nicole, ' _Nic._ ' 

The fact that that was her name was _irrelevant._

"Yeah, though I'm not as heroic as Nic, here." Robin grinned, shooting Nicole a wink. "Not _yet_ anyway."

Nicole rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing slightly but a warm grin pulling at her dimples. Waverly rolled her own eyes, though undoubtedly _not_ for the same reasons.

Sickening.

"Robin's our newest recruit," Nicole addressed Jeremy as she explained. "He's been working with me while he learns the ropes."

"It's been a lot of fun. Nic is just so… _great_ , right Waverly?" Robin grinned widely as he addressed the brunette, his voice friendly and easy, but something knowingly teasing beneath it. "So _brave_ and so damn _Haught_."

Waverly blanched, her skin flushing hot as she watched a blush spread across Nicole's cheeks, the redhead gritting her teeth at her colleague in some kind of warning that the brunette didn't understand. Why was he complimenting Nicole, but addressing her? Did Robin know, somehow, how she felt about her roommate? Was he _laughing_ at her? Mocking her, because he had what she wanted? She felt sick.

"And _who knew_ we'd have _so_ much in common?" Robin winked at Nicole, then shot a knowing grin at Jeremy, who blushed immediately. 

Was _everyone_ in on this joke? _What_ had Waverly missed? She could feel Nicole’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet them for fear of what they might tell her.

"Who wants drinks?" She jumped up, not even waiting for the answers before turning towards the door.

"I'll help." Nicole scrambled to her feet immediately.

"No!" Waverly held a hand out to stop her, finally meeting concerned, confused puppy eyes and immediately regretting it. She dropped her gaze. "No you stay and… _entertain_. Choose a game!"

She just needed a moment. It was fine. This was fine. Robin seemed like a nice person, and as long she didn't have to _watch_ him get close to Nicole in the way that she _really_ wanted to, then she could get herself through this evening. By the time Waverly made her way back into the living room, drinks in hand, Nicole had set up Pictionary across the coffee table. Waverly took a deep breath. She could do this. She could enjoy her evening. She _loved_ Pictionary. 

The game was a landslide. It was almost pointless to continue after the first couple of rounds, but Nicole and Robin had persistence on their side. If absolutely _nothing_ else. Waverly and Jeremy had eighteen points, and the firefighters had five. Waverly bit back her giggles as Nicole groaned in frustration, drawing her efforts for the third time for Robin's useless eye as he fired his guesses at her.

"Ants from really far away?"

"No."

"Humans from _really_ far away!"

_"No!"_

Waverly's giggles burst forth as she leaned forwards into Nicole’s space, catching sight of the word written on the card. Nicole caught her eye, shaking her head in disbelief as she pointed between Robin and her drawing, as if somehow it should have been transparently obvious that her misshapen circle with a sprinkling of dots through the middle was supposed to represent a chocolate chip cookie. Waverly giggled harder.

"Potato?"

Nicole legitimately _squeaked_ , her eyes widening in excitement at Robin's first guess even remotely in the topical ballpark. She jabbed her pen at the page, adding more dots, as if that made it _any_ clearer. Nicole’s excitement seemed to spur her teammate’s enthusiasm, and his voice got louder and higher pitched with each guess.

" _Baked_ potato. Potato with eyes. _Oh_ potato hassleback pie!" Robin threw his hands in the air triumphantly. 

"Hassleba…? _No_ , it's not a fucking potato!" Nicole threw her head back, her hands over her eyes.

Waverly lost it, her stomach shaking as her giggles surpassed any hope of control. Nicole was the most _adorable_ level of frustrated she had ever seen her, and the flaming tips of her ears and the crease in her brow were tickling Waverly in a way she couldn’t explain if she tried.

" _Ooh,_ I know, I know!" Robin practically shouted in his excitement, slamming his hand onto the coffee table.

Nicole’s eyebrows shot up almost comically, and she held her breath, her lips pursed as she waited for the answer.

"Putting make-up on an owl!"

There was a pause as Nicole exhaled slowly, Robin's eyes fixed on hers as he eagerly awaited her response. Waverly bit her lip, her eyes streaming as she watched her roommate’s shoulders drop as she placed her pen carefully on the coffee table and sat back, nodding slowly, her voice calm. 

"Yes. It's putting make-up on an owl."

_"Really?"_

"Dude, _no_." Nicole ran her hands through her hair, her voice incredulous. "What _game_ do you think we're playing?"

"Time!" Jeremy called, slamming the egg timer down on the table with unnecessary force. "No points. Again."

Nicole buried her head in her hands, groaning in defeat. Robin leaned over, grabbing the card and reading the answer.

"Oh, well that's _easy!_ " He scoffed, flinging it onto the discarded pile.

"Well why didn't you fucking _say_ it then?" Nicole shot back as she grabbed the timer, setting it on the table in front of her as Jeremy selected his card and picked up the pen.

Waverly watched him draw, the lines on the page taking shape in no longer than fifteen seconds. 

"Sausage dog!" She yelped.

_"Yes!"_

"Well, that’s humiliating." Robin sighed as he jotted down the score, his face breaking into a grin as Nicole scowled. 

"Okay, I think the _next_ game should play to _our_ strengths." Nicole grinned, her eyebrow quirked as she gestured between herself and Robin.

Waverly tried her hardest to ignore the way the word ' _our_ ' thumped in her chest and wrapped its way around her lungs, making the air feel stifling. Until Nicole’s eyes found her own and she winked, a downright _filthy_ smirk on her face that pooled instantly in Waverly’s core, leaving her physically squirming in her seat and barely able to even remember that Robin or Jeremy existed, let alone that she was supposed to be feeling bitter. 

"Who's up for Twister?" Nicole grinned.

 _Oh_ , fuck her sideways, she was _not_ surviving this night.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Jeremy was out immediately.

He had quite literally lasted fourteen seconds. He had put one foot on a red, then leaned over Robin’s thigh to put one hand on a yellow, leaving his face awkwardly close to the firefighter’s crotch. He had then immediately had what Waverly could instantly recognise as the biggest gay panic this side of… well, her own. She was well versed in this now, she would know the blown pupils and the darkened cheeks and the stuttery apologies _anywhere._ She grinned as Jeremy stumbled, hurling himself over Robin’s thigh in a desperate effort not to faceplant his crotch. She giggled.

At least she wasn’t the only one hopelessly pining after one half of this irritatingly attractive couple.

Although, with Jeremy now sprawled on the couch spinning the board, it suddenly became very clear to Waverly just how awkward her current situation had become. She had imagined being physically entwined with Nicole in _so_ many different ways, _so_ many times… but she would be hard pushed to say _any_ of them involved her roommate’s date with his thigh pressing into her own lower back. She was currently spread in some kind of backwards bridge, with one of Robin’s thighs beneath her. Nicole was crouched smugly to their side, one leg stretched over Waverly’s ankle, but the rest of her limbs all comfortably positioned together on green and yellow. Waverly arched her back higher, trying desperately to keep from resting her weight on Robin. _How_ had she ended up over the top here, when she was _so_ much smaller than he was?

“Nicole, left hand on _red_ ,” Jeremy practically sang out, a giggle sounding clear in his voice. 

Nicole paused for a moment, her brow furrowed as she eyed the spinner before she chuckled, shaking her head in Jeremy’s direction. She wobbled slightly, her socks slipping on the mat as she manoeuvred her body to reach over Waverly, fumbling for a gap between the brunette’s hands and Robin’s feet. Her palm landed with a slap, a soft grunt leaving her lips as she adjusted to the new position.

 _Oh_ holy _shit_.

All of the air in Waverly’s lungs suddenly seemed to solidify, and her head swam precariously as the reason for Jeremy’s amusement became clear. Nicole was _alarmingly_ close, and Waverly's brain could focus on nothing but vanilla and sandalwood, and the most _biteable_ goddamn smirk she had ever seen.

Her crush was now _straddling_ her, her arms either side of Waverly’s chest, leaving their hips just barely touching and their faces dangerously close. Dark, mischievous eyes flicked subtly between Waverly’s gaze and her trembling lips, and the brunette had to hold her breath to keep from whimpering. The ghost of Nicole’s breath as she chuckled may as well have been blown directly onto Waverly’s clit for all the chaos it was causing in her bloodstream. 

If Waverly had even the _first_ of her wits about her right now, she might have been able to comprehend the fact that Nicole's whole body was _way_ closer than she really needed to be. And that the knowing glint in mocha eyes and the dirty smirk on dimpled cheeks were far too... _deliberate_ for pure coincidence. 

And she _might_ have seen the playful wink that Jeremy had thrown Nicole as he had called out the move she was to make.

And that the spinner had, in fact, instructed ‘left foot yellow’.

 _But_ she didn’t. 

She was _far_ too busy reminding herself that closing the gap and biting down on that stupidly enticing lower lip would probably be considered assault. 

Waverly swallowed thickly, her cheeks heating as she met Nicole’s amused gaze. Resting her lower back lightly on Robin’s thigh suddenly seemed far less hazardous than inadvertently bucking her hips up into Nicole’s and starting a slow grind, so she allowed the arch of her body to relax slightly, the muscles of her stomach trembling with both exertion and unmitigated arousal. As soon as her back made the slightest contact with Robin’s thigh, the firefighter grunted, his muscles giving way as he crashed to the mat, bringing a flailing Waverly with him. 

Waverly closed her eyes, focusing everything she had on the hardwood floor beneath the mat below her in an effort to regain her senses, and _not_ on her roommate’s smug grin or the heavy pulse that throbbed between her own thighs. 

_Jesus._

Playing to Nicole’s _strengths_ , indeed. 

She sighed heavily, a resigned grin tugging at her lips as she met Nicole’s triumphant smirk and wriggling eyebrows.

“Asshole.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"I think we're gonna head off."

Waverly and Nicole were in the kitchen clearing the plates away when Robin appeared in the archway, gesturing at Jeremy over his shoulder as he spoke.

" _Oh_ right, together?" Nicole smirked, her eyebrow quirked as she leaned back against the counter.

"Yeah,” Robin grinned, exchanging a look with Nicole that Waverly didn’t quite understand. “Jeremy suggested we share a cab, since we live in the same direction."

"Mmhmm." Nicole nodded, her smirk widening into a grin.

"Thank you for having me here, Waverly.” Robin moved to wrap his arms around the brunette as he spoke, his voice bright and his eyes earnest. “I hope we can do this again. You two make a good team." He grinned, winking at his colleague as Nicole’s cheeks flared red.

As they closed the door behind their guests, Waverly inhaled deeply. If she was honest, it felt a little like it was the first time she had breathed all evening. She felt _exceptionally_ irritated. She liked Robin a _lot_ , and it was just her shitty luck that he was the catalyst that would lead to her own broken heart. It would have been _so_ much easier to hate him. 

“That was fun! Robin seems nice.” Waverly followed Nicole back into the kitchen, her stomach somersaulting as she tried to pluck up the courage to ask the burning question that had been on her mind for six straight days.

“Yeah, he’s a really great guy." Nicole began to collect the glass bottles from the granite island, carrying them over to the recycling bin to the corner of the room. "He seemed to like you, too! And Jeremy is...”

“Are you guys like, official?” Waverly winced as she cut Nicole’s words off, unable to hold her own in any longer lest she combust. 

“Wh… _huh_?" Nicole spun to face her, her brow furrowed and her lip quirked in apparent confusion.

“You and Robin...” Waverly could hear the strained pitch in her voice, and she closed her eyes, unable to meet Nicole’s gaze as she spoke. "Like, is he your… your boyfriend?”

There was a silent pause, and Waverly held her breath, tensing the muscles of her stomach as if somehow that would shield her from the pain of Nicole’s answer. She had envisioned this moment several times over the past week, imagining a whole host of possible answers falling from the redhead’s lips. Not _one_ of those times did she imagine the muffled giggles that filtered unmistakably through the thickened air. She shot her eyes open, her heart pounding in her throat as she watched Nicole wipe at glistening eyes, biting down on her lip in an effort to stem the laughter that shook her shoulders. She frowned.

“Why is that so funny?”

Nicole’s giggles subsided almost immediately as her eyes roamed Waverly’s perplexed expression, and her jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening in incredulity. 

“Wh… _because_ , Waverly, I...” 

Nicole took a careful step forward, her eyes taking on the same misty glaze that Waverly had seen in them this morning, as she’d pulled the redhead’s shirt tight around her own body. Full lips curled into a smirk of disbelief, and Nicole shook her head, her eyes flicking briefly over the length of Waverly’s body as she chuckled softly. 

"I am _so_ gay!"

“Oh…”

Waverly’s lungs emptied on her single exhaled exclamation, the tightness of her chest forbidding her to take another breath as the words took their hold. There was _something_ in Nicole’s eyes and in the lopsided smirk on her parted lips; something in the way she held Waverly’s gaze as she took another cautious step forward, that was setting the brunette’s blood alight, and her stomach beat madly with butterflies, and fireflies, and _wasps,_ or something, for all she could ascertain. The sheer relief hit her harder than she had even begun to comprehend that it would, and she leaned back against the edge of the granite island to hold her trembling legs upright. 

"I-I just…” She swallowed hard, her mind clouding further with each tentative step that Nicole took towards her. “I thought…"

She trailed off, her embarrassment getting the better of her. She knew full well that she had never had any reason to think that Robin was Nicole’s date other than the insane ramblings of her own jealous mind. She blushed, shrugging apologetically.

Nicole chuckled lightly, pulling her lower lip between her teeth as a slightly bemused recognition flickered behind dark mocha eyes. She nodded. 

“So, for what it's worth, is Robin.” She grinned, cocking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the door. “And I’m _pretty_ sure he just went home with Jeremy.”

Waverly blanked.

“Wait, _what?”_ She barked a laugh, disbelief distracting her for a moment as she cast her mind back over each and every interaction that she had clearly misunderstood over the course of the evening. _“How_ did I miss _that?”_

“Probably because your gaydar _very_ clearly sucks.” Nicole grinned, winking cheekily at Waverly as the brunette scowled.

“Hey, look, I'm not _totally_ dense,” Waverly huffed, her cheeks reddening under Nicole’s teasing gaze. “I figured you like women but _firstly_ , that doesn’t mean you don't like men, and _secondly,_ you can't just go around assuming these things just because someone wears a lot of flannel and is good with a power tool."

" _No_ , that’s true." 

Nicole dropped her gaze to the floor as she chuckled, shaking her head lightly. When she flicked her eyes back to meet Waverly’s, the brunette felt her breath hitch at the darkened fire that burned behind them; a heady glaze of something that sparked far deeper than the simple haze of alcohol. Nicole licked her lips, her eyebrow quirking as she took another step closer to Waverly, leaving just a few feet separating them as she spoke again.

"But I think you probably _can_ assume, with reasonable safety, that someone is more than a little... _interested,_ ” she grinned, her voice dropping lower as she took another step closer. “When they flirt as downright obviously as _I_ do with _you_." 

That grin was _devastating._ An overwhelming mix of no less than a thousand different emotions tangled in Waverly’s mind, and she was powerless to process a single one of them. Her head was starting to feel light, and she was fairly sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol coursing through her system and _everything_ to do with the suggestive gravel in Nicole’s deepened voice. She swallowed thickly, her breath beginning to fall harder as Nicole studied her face.

"Were you jealous tonight, Wave?"

Nicole’s voice was softer; quieter than Waverly had expected, and the tease was gone from her eyes for a moment. She took another step closer, the gap small enough now that the brunette could feel the heat that radiated from the firefighter’s body.

Waverly opened her mouth to respond, but Nicole was moving closer _still_ , and all the blood from her brain was thundering somewhere between the dragons in her stomach and the 200 beat-per-minute pulse that had dropped _very_ suddenly between her thighs. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, and she couldn’t tear her gaze from her roommate’s lips. She was so entranced; so mesmerised that she barely noticed Nicole lean forwards, resting her hands on the counter either side of Waverly’s waist. A vanilla scented prison that Waverly would happily die in.

 _Fuck_ those lips should be framed in the goddamn Louvre. And holy _shit_ they were _so_ close.

The redhead’s lips quirked in a soft smirk, and the movement seemed to send Waverly’s senses crashing back around her, her blood searing in her veins as it registered in her lust hazed brain _just_ how close Nicole was to her body, and the suddenly starkly obvious implications. She tore her gaze up to meet Nicole’s eyes, a shiver trickling torturously down her spine at the undeniable, darkened desire behind them. There was a question in them; reminding Waverly that she was yet to answer the one that the redhead had asked her. She swallowed thickly and nodded shyly, almost imperceptibly. 

Nicole’s lips curled into a beaming grin, and she closed the last of the gap between their bodies, her hips pinning the brunette lightly against the hard surface of the kitchen counter. She brought a hand up, her fingers tracing feather light along the line of Waverly’s jaw. Her tongue darted out to wet her parted lips, and Waverly honest to god _whimpered_ with the unbearable anticipation. 

"You're really something else, Waverly Earp." 

Nicole’s low murmur vibrated over Waverly’s lips, and she parted them instinctively. The electricity hung thick in the air as the redhead’s lips hovered over her own. Waverly gasped softly, her eyes flickering closed as they brushed _just_ close enough to feel them. 

The pause was torture, but Waverly understood its purpose. 

_One last moment._

One last moment to let _weeks_ of intensely charged build-up flutter and pulse between them, both all too aware that the very moment their lips touched, _every_ ounce of tension from the past six weeks would flood both of their veins, and there would be no turning back. 

Waverly didn’t want to turn back. She _wanted_ Nicole.

She twisted her hands in the front of the redhead’s shirt, tugging gently to coax her in. She gasped softly as Nicole’s fingers slipped back into her hair and she closed the gap, _unfairly_ soft lips finally claiming her own in a slow, searing kiss. 

The movement of Nicole’s lips was firm but slow, somehow both so tender and yet _so_ sinful. Relentless heat rippled beneath the surface of Waverly’s skin, and she pulled hard at the material of the shirt as she deepened the kiss. The first sweep of a teasing tongue over her lower lip twinged hard in her stomach, and she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck, threading her fingers through red hair in desperate need of something to grip onto. Nicole’s arms pulled tight around her waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other as she slipped her tongue past Waverly’s lips, both moaning softly at the contact.

The heat was unbearable.

Waverly’s head swam, her arousal burning through every nerve in her body as Nicole’s hands slipped down over her ass, lifting her effortlessly as she pushed her back onto the counter. Firm hands continued their path down the underside of Waverly’s thighs as Nicole pulled them up over her hips, pressing her own body hard between them. Waverly smirked, pulling Nicole’s bottom lip between her teeth as she locked her ankles in the small of the redhead’s back. Nicole groaned softly, her hands tugging at Waverly’s ass as she pushed her own hips forward, pulling the brunette's centre firmly against the muscles of her stomach. 

Oh _holy fuck._

Waverly’s entire body trembled, her core throbbing with desire as she ground her hips down into the contact, barely containing her broken whimpers of pleasure against the redhead’s lips. It was too much. _Too_ much for a kiss, and if she didn't rein it back then she was absolutely guaranteed to come right here, over her roommate’s fully clothed abs.

She needed to slow down, but Nicole’s hands on her ass encouraged her into a slow rhythm, and she was powerless to fight it. She ground her hips down again, moaning loudly into the kiss, her body growing desperate. She tugged firmly in Nicole’s hair, her clit pulsing hard as the redhead broke away from the kiss with a deep, hoarse groan. 

_"Fuck."_

Hooded eyes fixed on Waverly’s, kiss swollen lips parted with arousal, and the brunette knew instantly that this was a sound she absolutely _needed_ to coax again from her roommate's lips. _Over_ and over again. She tugged again, desire pooling thick between her thighs at the glazed arousal that flickered through deep mocha eyes, and the redhead's low growl of approval.

"Wave…" 

Something in the eye contact between them seemed to break through the almost predatory fire in Nicole’s lust-filled gaze, and she softened, exhaling slowly as she rested her forehead against Waverly's. Her grip on the brunette’s ass loosened, her fingers moving to wrap gently around her hips. She held Waverly close, but kept the gap between them as the brunette tried to chase her lips.

"Waverly, wait."

Waverly blinked, her blood cooling instantly in her veins as her clouded mind processed that this was stopping. That Nicole was stopping her.

_Shit._

Had she misunderstood? Had she just thrown herself at her unsuspecting _tenant_ like some sort of _sexual predator?_ She jumped back, her eyes wide and her apology thick on her tongue as she opened her mouth to speak. 

"I…"

Nicole cut her off with a kiss, just long and just heated enough to halt her words in the air.

"Don't." Nicole grinned as she leaned back to search Waverly’s flushed face, her eyebrow quirked in a soft tease. "I can see the apology in your eyes, Earp. Don't say it. _I_ kissed _you_!"

"R-right." Waverly blushed, but she couldn’t stop the shy smile that tugged at her lips as Nicole’s warm eyes and teasing tone took their familiar hold on her and she relaxed a little, letting her arms fall back around her roommate’s shoulders. 

" _And_ I _meant_ it." Nicole chuckled, brushing her nose along the bridge of Waverly’s. The brunette shivered, practically melting into the touch. "I’m just stopping because we've both been drinking, and I don't want to say, or _do_ the things that I _really_ want to when we're not completely sober."

Waverly’s stomach somersaulted and her breath hitched in her chest.

Frankly, she wasn't sure which list she wanted first! 

Butterflies beat in her stomach as she considered the possibility that the things Nicole wanted to _say_ might just be the things that she'd wanted to hear for weeks.

But, the things Nicole wanted to _do…_

She bit her lip as her roommate chuckled, an eyebrow raised with a teasing smirk. It was quite ridiculous really, how easily this woman could read her. She blushed. 

" _So_ I am going to go to bed," Nicole murmured, the tips of her fingers tracing circles over the small of Waverly’s back that made it _very_ hard to accept the words she was saying.

She leaned forward, placing a soft kiss just below Waverly’s ear, the simple touch raising goosebumps over every inch of her skin. She grinned as Waverly shivered. 

"I'm going to get basically _no_ sleep while I think about the things we just did." Nicole smirked, her voice _unfairly_ low. "And the _sounds_ you just made."

She gritted her teeth, rolling her eyes back with a deliberate groan that flooded instantly in Waverly’s core. The brunette blushed, burying her face in the firefighter's neck as Nicole chuckled softly.

"And then tomorrow..." 

Nicole's voice grew soft, barely a whisper as she leaned back to connect her gaze with Waverly's. She traced a finger lightly over the curve of the brunette’s eyebrow and round the line of her jaw, her dimples hinting at a soft smile. 

"I'm going to tell you just how I really feel about you."

_Oh._

Nicole hooked her finger under Waverly’s chin, connecting their lips once more in an easy, gentle kiss, before stepping back to break the contact between them. She grinned. 

"Goodnight, Wave."

Waverly could only watch, her eyes wide with awe and a slow, stunned smile spread across her face. She bit her lip, giddy elation seeping warm through every part of her body.

"Night, Nic."

  
  



	6. It Takes a Lot to Faze Me, But...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am genuinely blown away by the comments and the kudos and the tweets on this lil fic, thank you so much for your time and your feedback!
> 
> You will notice that the chapter numbers keep climbing, and that is simply because I'm writing as I'm posting, and while the overall story is planned to the end, the detailed content just keeps popping into my head. So who really knows how long it'll be 🤷🏼😉
> 
> Happy Thursday!

Waverly turned the dial warmer on the shower, letting the heat of the water ease her tense muscles. She was nervous. _Really_ nervous. Hands shaking, heart in her mouth, butterflies in her stomach kind of nervous. She had laid awake for hours the night before, her entire body vibrating with thoughts of Nicole, the ghost of her kiss still tingling on her lips. On more than one shameless occasion she had eased her frustration beneath her own fingers, her mind swimming with filthy hopes that the redhead just _might_ have been doing the very same thing just the other side of the hallway between them.

The sound of the shower beat in her ears, and something about the fact that she couldn’t hear whether her roommate was up and about was only making her more nervous. She wanted _so_ badly to believe that the things that had happened last night were the start of something real, but for some god forsaken reason, her mind was hellbent on convincing her that the redhead would wake up this morning and announce that she had made a colossal mistake, and would be joining a convent in Eastern Europe to repent for her sins. She groaned, letting the water wash over her shoulders for a moment longer before switching off the dial. She couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to know. 

She dried hastily, scrunching her hair into waves and throwing on the least threadbare of her sweatpants, and a tight t-shirt that she knew hugged the curves of her chest in _just_ the right way. She wanted it to look like she’d just woken up. _Casual._ Unaffected. But also, she had seen the colour of unbridled lust in Nicole’s eyes now, and she _needed_ that darkened fire on her again. Needed the redhead to _want_ her. She sprayed a little perfume below her jaw and on her wrists, just for a little extra appeal. 

Then over the fabric between her thighs, for good measure. 

She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest as she exited the bathroom. The jingle of that _damn_ coffee machine in the kitchen seeped straight into her veins, making the hairs on her arms stand on end. Nicole was here, that was a start. No convent just yet. She made her way slowly into the kitchen, the butterflies in her stomach doing roundoff cartwheels as her eyes finally landed on her roommate. 

"Morning!" The redhead’s face broke immediately into a wide grin as she watched Waverly enter the room, those goddamn dimples making the brunette’s knees weak. 

“You’re _here._ ” 

It was fully intended to be an internal thought, and Waverly winced immediately as the words left her lips. Nicole’s dimples deepened, her warm eyes filled with understanding and reassurance as they searched Waverly’s face.

“I live here, where else would I be?” Nicole teased, her voice playful as she leaned back against the edge of the kitchen island, bringing her coffee cup to her lips.

“I-I thought…” Waverly trailed off, her cheeks flushing red.

“That I’d wake up in a state of panic, regret the best kiss of my life, and stowaway on a container ship to the remote hills of Albania?” Nicole grinned.

“Strange, that was _almost_ my specific fear, actually.” Waverly narrowed her eyes playfully, her shoulders dropping and her pulse calming as the easy atmosphere settled around her. She opened her mouth to continue, her voice catching in her throat as the meaning of Nicole’s words suddenly blared in her brain, and her butterflies beat into overdrive. 

“ _Wait_ , the best kiss of your life?” 

Nicole's eyes twinkled with mischief as she bit down on her lower lip, but she didn't say anything. She cocked an eyebrow, urging Waverly to continue, the coffee cup back at her lips just barely hiding her amused smirk. 

Waverly shook her head, struggling to remember her train of thought as her mind battled intense flashbacks of Nicole’s lips on her own, her hands on the underside of her thighs. She swallowed thickly, dropping her gaze to the floor in an effort to collect her thoughts. 

“I thought maybe you would worry about… _this,_ ” she waved her hand aimlessly at the room around her. “Us being roommates. And decide it was better not to risk it.”

Nicole watched her for a moment, her eyes flickering softly as they looked between Waverly’s. 

“Waves, I’m just gonna go ahead and lay this on the line.” 

She placed her coffee mug carefully down on the counter behind her as she seemed to consider her next words. Waverly held her breath.

“You are not something that I can run from, _just in case_. If there’s a chance that this could _be_ something… it’s a no-brainer to me. I’d rather things got awkward because we tried, than ever risk not taking that chance because it might not work out.”

Waverly’s entire body tingled, her heart feeling as if it physically swelled against her chest as Nicole’s words filled it. She felt giddy, her head light as some unseen force pulled her closer to Nicole, her feet moving of their own accord.

“Was that one of the things you wanted to say?” She teased, her lips curling into a smirk as she reflected on the redhead’s words from the night before. “Because I’ve been a _mess_ all night waiting to hear those things, Nicole.” She grinned. “I’m not sure I can compete with your superhuman self restraint."

Waverly stepped closer as she spoke, teasing eyes fixed on Nicole’s. She reached a hand forward, tugging gently on the strings of the redhead’s hoodie as she closed the gap between them. Nicole grinned cheekily, her hands finding the hem of Waverly’s shirt and her fingers slipping just beneath it, trailing lightly over the skin of the brunette’s hips.

“I _am_ a _very_ strong willed kinda person, Earp.” Nicole grinned, her eyes dancing with mischief. Then her smile softened. The words had started out teasing, but something shifted in her voice as she continued; something more earnest in her tone and the depth of her eyes. “I have to be. In the job I do, it doesn’t pay well not to have a firm hold on your wits. It takes a lot to faze me, but…”

She took a deep breath, her lips curled softly in a shy smile, her eyes almost awed as they roamed Waverly’s face.

“Then I moved into this house. This _beautiful_ house, with its painted walls and hardwood floors, and its flustered owner with the smart mouth and the irresistible smile.” She chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. “And the _torturous_ ability to take the heat from zero to a hundred in a millisecond, and _completely_ ruin me.” 

She grinned, her fingers dragging lightly over Waverly’s hips. 

“And it knocked me for six.”

Waverly couldn’t tear her eyes from Nicole’s face, and she knew she must have looked as utterly entranced as she felt. She shivered as Nicole’s fingers trailed the waistband of her sweatpants, passing over her hips to trace circles over the dimples in the small of her back. 

“But the thing that has disarmed me more than anything in the world…" She exhaled slowly, her soft smile deepening. "Is the extraordinary possibility that you might just feel the same way. I _really_ like you, Waverly Earp. And I would really, really like it if I could take you on a date.”

Waverly swooned. There was really no other way to put it. Had Nicole’s arms not been wrapped around her waist, she was absolutely certain she would have dissolved into a soft, warm, melted puddle of elated arousal at the firefighter’s feet. She didn’t trust her voice. She was a million percent sure that the _only_ coherent words she would be capable of making right now would sound an awful lot like ‘take my body and all that is mine.’ So instead she nodded, her beaming smile so wide she could feel the strain in the muscles of her cheeks.

“This afternoon?” Nicole grinned, her eyebrow raised hopefully.

“ _Yes._ Please.” Waverly bit her lip, silently congratulating herself for forming a comprehensible response. "And for what it’s worth, Nic… I _definitely_ feel the same way.”

Nicole grinned, her hips pushing forward to spin them around, pressing Waverly back against the counter. The brunette's breath hitched as Nicole's nose brushed over her own, then soft lips pressed gently against the overheated skin of her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed, her blood pounding in anticipation of the moment that those lips would meet her own.

It never came.

She shot her eyes open as Nicole’s touch left her body, sputtering in outraged protest as the redhead backed away, a playful grin pulling at the lips that absolutely should be tearing Waverly’s world apart right now.

“ _Where_ do you think you’re going?" She demanded. "You do not get to say those things to a girl and not kiss her afterwards!”

“ _B_ _efore_ our first date?” Nicole furrowed her brows, her tone feigning bewildered confusion. “What do you think I was, raised in a barn?”

No. 

_No._

This was an _outrage_.

“Nicole Haught, get back here and kiss me!"

“I couldn’t _possibly_ do that, Waves, I'm not a neanderthal.”

“Eight hours ago you hoisted me onto this counter and kissed me so deeply I couldn’t remember my own name!” She protested, her entire body screaming in sexually charged frustration at this _preposterous_ turn of events.

“I don't make the rules, Earp.”

Waverly exhaled slowly. 

_Fine._

If Nicole Haught wanted to play, she would play. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and fixed her gaze on Nicole’s, a fire in her stomach that she _knew_ reflected in her eyes. She took a deliberate step forward. Nicole’s cheeks tinted _immediately._

"Wave…"

Waverly moved slowly, deliberately swinging her hips. She flicked heated eyes openly to Nicole’s lips, feeling her stomach flip triumphantly as the redhead visibly swallowed.

"Wh-what are you doing? This is the bit where…" Nicole’s voice broke audibly as Waverly closed the gap between them. "Where you call me an asshole, and we laugh about it and…"

“Not this time.” Waverly smirked, shaking her head lightly.

“N-no?”

“No. Because _this_ …” Waverly placed her hand over Nicole’s heaving chest, her eyes following its movement. “And _these_ …” She brushed her thumb almost painfully softly over red, heated cheeks. “Suggest _I’m_ winning.”

Nicole's lips parted, and hooded eyes watched Waverly for a moment, flicking between her heated gaze and her smug smirk. Then she surrendered, her hands wrapping around Waverly’s hips as she tugged her into a kiss. 

It started urgent, and the heat behind it flooded Waverly’s core instantly. The brunette gripped tightly to the fabric of Nicole’s hoodie, afraid that if she let go she would slide boneless to the floor. But then it softened; hungry movements replaced by tenderness, and somehow that was even _worse_. Waverly’s knees were one soft caress of Nicole’s lips away from buckling beneath her, and there was a _very_ small part of her that was almost relieved when the redhead pulled away.

“I just want to do this right.” Nicole’s voice was barely more than a whisper. She leaned her forehead against Waverly's, her soft smile almost coy. “I-I dunno, it’s just… I want to give you the romance, and the holding hands and the butterflies on the doorstep after a first date kiss. I don’t want the fact that we live together to mean that we skip any of those steps." She shrugged, her eyes finding Waverly’s almost shyly as she leaned back. "I-I just want the chance to really _date_ you, Wave.”

Waverly melted.

She'd thought she was a hot mess _before_ she'd kissed Nicole, but nothing could ever have prepared her for the way that her body seemed to respond so viscerally to every single thing that had fallen from the redhead’s lips since. She grinned, _more_ than happy to surrender to Nicole’s every wish. 

“What should I wear?”

“Put your biggest, chunkiest, wooliest sweater on.” Nicole beamed. “And maybe that _stupidly_ cute hat with the fluffy bobble.”  
  


⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  
  


Waverly squealed, not even bothering to hide her childlike excitement as Nicole pulled the car to a stop in an open field that was temporarily acting as the parking lot for the local Fall Festival. She had made no secret of how much she _loved_ the autumn, and so the redhead’s decision to bring her here felt especially sweet. She was pretty sure she had never been so happy as they wandered around the stalls, Nicole’s hand brushing occasionally against her own, sending tingles shooting up her arm and into her chest. The glint in mocha eyes and the little sideways glances told her the firefighter was more than aware that she was doing it, and that only served to flip her stomach harder when she _finally_ took pity and caught the brunette’s palm in her own, linking their fingers together. 

Waverly’s face lit up as Nicole guided them over to a large stall surrounded by decorative stacks of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, some carved into intricate designs while others were painted with vivid patterns that almost shimmered in the low afternoon sun. Around the stall were low stools, each place set with a cutting board and a variety of carving tools and brushes. 

“Creator of the worst carved pumpkin buys the hot dogs?” Waverly waggled her eyebrows playfully as she turned to face Nicole.

“Earp, you’ve seen my art skills.” Nicole raised an eyebrow, but she grinned, grabbing a large pumpkin as she sat herself down. “This is a mockery.”

“Well,” Waverly chuckled, grabbing her own smaller pumpkin and sitting opposite the redhead. "Watch and learn, Haught."

Waverly’s pattern was intricate; delicate leaves and swirling branches spreading from the centre out. She lost herself in her design for a while, easy conversation flowing between them as they worked. She grinned as Nicole sighed, studying her own pumpkin with a look of bewildered dismay.

“Art never was my strongest subject.” Nicole shook her head, seeming to surrender as she placed her tools down.

“What were you like at school?” Waverly flicked her eyes over the redhead’s smile, her chest warming at the thought of a fresh faced Nicole, those dimples set in chubby cheeks.

"I was an asshole.” Nicole chuckled. “My Religious Studies teacher failed me for writing my finals essay on 'Why God is a Lesbian’, and just pasting a photo of Ellen DeGeneres in the references section."

“Why does nothing about this surprise me?" Waverly grinned, shaking her head in amusement.

"Because I'm still an asshole?"

"Because you're still a _sinner._ " Waverly winked, letting a deliberately dirty smirk cross slowly over her lips. She felt the first embers of a fire spark in her stomach as Nicole’s eyes traced the movement, their colour darkening almost instantly. She dialled it right on back, her voice honeyed and sweet as she continued. "I loved school. I did _everything._ ”

“I can imagine it, too. Top of the class, Valedictorian, prom queen.” Nicole grinned. “Hall monitor, yearbook editor, captain of the debate team.”

“Don’t forget head cheerleader,” Waverly sang.

“As _if_ I could…” Nicole trailed off, her eyes glassy as she gazed unseeing over Waverly’s shoulder for a moment. She grinned, biting her lip with a sigh and a shudder. “Come on Michelangelo, let’s see your masterpiece.”

Waverly made a deliberate show of spinning her pumpkin around with a flourish, smug pride flooding her chest as the redhead’s eyes widened and she let out a low whistle.

“ _Fucking_ hell. Hot dogs are on me then.”

“Well let’s see yours!”

“No. It’ll hurt your eyes.”

Waverly raised an eyebrow, swirling her finger in a gesture for Nicole to spin the pumpkin. The redhead shook her head, pursing her lips. Waverly grinned, lunging forward to grab the pumpkin and jumping from her seat before Nicole could stop her. She squealed as the redhead jumped up behind her, grabbing at her waist in an effort to pull her back.

Nicole groaned as the brunette slipped from her grasp, turning the pumpkin in her hands to see the carvings. Waverly’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes misting at the _just_ legible ‘N’ and ‘W’, carved either side of a jaggedly cut heart. She chuckled softly.

“The execution is a little shabby…” she teased, her grin wide as she pushed the pumpkin back into Nicole’s arms. She dropped her voice, boldly trailing her fingers over the spread of Nicole’s jacket. “But you are _so_ getting laid tonight for the sheer adorableness of that thing.”

Nicole froze, her eyes wide and her lips parted in a soundless gasp. The pumpkin thudded to the floor, an audible squelch sounding as it split on the dry mud below them. 

“Come on Haught.” Waverly patted Nicole’s chest, turning on her heels and skipping off as if she hadn’t just wrenched the bottom out of her date’s world. “There’s a mulled cider around here somewhere with my name on it.”

“ _Jesus…”_

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  
  


The next stall to catch Waverly’s eye had Nicole Haught written _all_ over it. A huge basket of tall logs sat beside a broad, heavy wooden tree stump, a long handled axe propped to its side. The stall itself held a variety of harvest prizes; cans, bottles, jars and baskets of fresh local produce. The rules were simple. Split the log in one swing, and win a prize of your choosing. 

Waverly turned to Nicole, a sly smirk across her face as she tugged on the hem of the redhead’s jacket. 

"I _really_ think you should try this." 

" _Do_ you now?" Nicole grinned, her eyebrow raised knowingly. She was already rolling the sleeves of her jacket over her forearms, and Waverly’s mouth dried in anticipation.

On more than one occasion since Waverly Earp’s life had been blessed with Purgatory’s Finest Emergency Services 2021 wall calendar, she had shamelessly pictured a thousand variations of this moment. She was _so_ aware that a firefighter used an axe to get in or out of blockages, and _not_ to split firewood into a chopping block, but when that hot firefighter was also one to wear alarming amounts of flannel… well she really didn’t think she could be blamed for the debased parts of her brain that conjured the most _debauched_ of lumberjack fantasies. 

Sue her.

It was a smutty, sordid request, and she knew it. 

And her core was practically vibrating as she watched her date prepare to live her fantasies before her very eyes.

The movement was swift; fluid, and the muscles of Nicole’s shoulders swelled visibly even beneath the thick layers of her shirt and her jacket, her jaw clenched and her brows furrowed in concentration as she lifted the axe. She grunted softly as she swung it down cleanly, straight through the centre of the log.

Waverly groaned.

It was a viscerally physical reaction, and there was absolutely _nothing_ she could have done to stop it.

She didn’t even care. She was far too busy watching her mind’s eye peel each of Nicole’s layers from her body and learning how _every_ one of those muscles tasted. 

"Are you objectifying me, Earp?"

 _"Absolutely."_ Waverly smirked, her voice husky with her unabashed desire. "Just… just do something for me, Nic." 

"Yeah?" Nicole quirked an eyebrow, the fucking axe just propped smugly over her shoulder as if it wasn’t starting a five-alarm fire between Waverly’s legs.

"Just stand there."

Nicole frowned. 

"Widen your legs a little bit." Waverly grinned.

Nicole smirked, flashes of recognition sparking in her eyes. She bit her cheek as she followed her date’s instruction, her eyebrow quirked. 

"Put the axe across your shoulders." Waverly was teasing, for the most part, but her chest and her neck still burned with the flush of arousal at the image. "Maybe lose some clothes, get a little greased up."

"You…" Nicole grinned as she dropped the axe back into its propped position on the tree stump, and moved towards her giggling date. "Have _more_ than enough of those images at home."

"Mmmm, and I haven’t told you about the one in my bedroom yet, either," Waverly teased, her fingers twisting into the front of Nicole’s jacket and tugging her close.

"Wh-what?"

"That one gets the most use." Waverly shrugged, her voice nonchalant. 

"What do you mean, it _gets the most use?"_

Waverly bit back a laugh as she flicked her eyes over Nicole’s shoulder, her eyes widening. 

" _Ooh,_ a hay maze!"

She trotted off, leaving a flustered and slightly exasperated Nicole frozen in her spot.

_"Waverly Earp!"_

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  
  


The hay maze was the pride of the festival. The bales stood tall, the entrance and exit marked by separate archways and large painted banners. Nicole wrapped her arm over Waverly’s shoulders, pulling her close as they watched the visitors enter and exit.

"I can find my way blindly out of a building filled with smoke and flames, but I have never _once_ managed to make it out of one of these without calling for organised assistance." Nicole grinned, shaking her head.

"Not to be boastful,” Waverly boasted, “but I could make my way out of this thing with my eyes closed."

"Oh, you could?" Nicole turned to face her, pulling their hips close together.

"Yep.” Waverly beamed. “I'm _very_ good at problem solving."

"Close your eyes." Nicole smirked.

Waverly frowned.

"Wh… but we're not _in_ the maze."

Nicole leaned closer, her breath hitting Waverly’s lips as she murmured the instruction a second time.

"Close your eyes, Wave."

Waverly’s eyes flickered closed. She should have seen it coming, but with Nicole Haught’s lips _that_ close to her own, her body responded solely to the pulse between her thighs, and _not_ to the rational thoughts of her brain. She squealed as Nicole’s arm swept around her waist, hoisting her up and over her shoulders in a fireman’s lift. 

“Keep ‘em closed, Earp!”

Waverly couldn’t fight the giggles as Nicole carried her into the depths of the maze, squeaks and squeals of disorientation flying from her lips as the redhead rounded the twists and turns.

"You think this is a challenge, Haught?" She opened her eyes as Nicole came to a stop, and wriggled slightly against her in a half-assed request to be let down.

"Not yet." 

Waverly could hear the smirk in Nicole’s voice, and she frowned, her stomach clenching in anticipation. 

_Yet?_

Nicole’s movements were _far_ too controlled. She lifted Waverly round onto the front of her body as if she weighed nothing, bringing her waist flush to the firefighter’s chest. She held the brunette tight against her as she allowed her to slide down, _torturously_ slowly, _every_ inch of their bodies gliding together as Waverly’s feet descended towards the floor. 

Waverly’s blood boiled in her veins, molten heat pooling in her core as every curve of the redhead’s body passed deliberately over her abs and her stomach, and her thighs, and the pulsing throb between them.

Jesus _fucking_ christ. 

Nicole’s lips _just_ ghosted over her own as her feet finally hit the floor, the redhead’s arms still wrapped firmly around her waist. They trailed, _barely_ touching, over the line of the brunette’s jaw and up to her ear, the low, gravelly words husked over the shell.

" _Now_ it's a challenge." 

Nicole’s teeth closed gently over Waverly’s earlobe, punctuating her words with a gentle flick of the tip of her tongue.

Waverly had never.

_Never._

Been _so_ close to falling apart in such a short space of time.

Her skin was on fire, and it was frankly fucking _terrifying_ just how easy that had been for Nicole to rip her world from under her.

God help her when her roommate _finally_ took her home.

"You leading us out of here, then, or what?" Nicole grinned, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb as she stepped back.

Waverly had no idea. 

_No idea._

She didn’t even know who she was. 

Let alone where she was.

She didn’t even have the faculties to call the woman an asshole.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝  
  


As the early evening grew dark, and the air grew colder with it, a large bonfire was lit in the centre of the festival ground. Waverly sat on the hay bale closest to the flames, her scarf and her thick coat pulled tight around her body as Nicole fetched them both the long awaited hot dogs and mulled cider.

She nestled close into Nicole’s side as the redhead returned, hooking her legs comfortably over her date’s lap. _Purely_ for warmth purposes, of course. They watched the flames dance as they ate in comfortable silence, the soft melody of a guitar playing from a makeshift stage somewhere behind them.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Nic." Waverly turned her face to Nicole’s, warmth spreading through her chest as she met smitten eyes and a dimpled smile. “I didn’t really get to do many of these things growing up, and doing this with you has been, honestly, one of the best days of my life.”

Nicole’s beaming smile was almost too much for Waverly’s heart to take, the crinkles in her eyes somehow the most adorable thing the brunette had ever seen. She had to tear her gaze back to the fire, to keep from launching herself at her ridiculously cute date.

"I love fall _so_ much.” She grinned, leaning her head on Nicole’s shoulder. “Everything about it. The smells, the colours, the crisp air, the taste of cinnamon and caramel and…"

“ _Oh_ , can we go home and make pumpkin pie?” Nicole’s excited voice cut her off, and she giggled.

“Nicole Haught...” Waverly lifted her head, placing a soft kiss on the underside of the redhead’s jaw. “You are the most adorable human being on the planet.” 

She kissed her again, in the sensitive spot beneath her ear where the curve of her jaw met her pulse. She grinned as the redhead shuddered, her breath catching audibly in her throat.

“But no.”

Nicole pouted as Waverly pulled back to look at her, and the brunette grinned. 

That pout was too much.

She couldn’t resist it this time. She leaned forward, taking the jutted lower lip between her teeth and biting down gently, the tip of her tongue just flicking out to tease it before she pulled away.

“There are many, _many_ things I want to do with you when we get home.”

She smirked as Nicole exhaled shakily, her eyes hooded and her lips parted.

“And not _one_ of them involves baking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knooooowwww 😂😂
> 
> I'm sorry!! 
> 
> I promise, hand over my heart, that I will more than make it up to you in chapter 7 😈😈😈


	7. Say That Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle reminder that this fic is rated E.
> 
> It's explicit.
> 
> Did I mention it's smutty?
> 
> Happy weekend!

Waverly’s heart practically rattled in her chest as the car made the familiar crunch over the gravel of their driveway. The sound of her home seemed to trigger something in her body that set her nerves into overdrive; her stomach spinning pirouettes and her palms starting to prickle with sweat. Nicole’s hand had been resting on her thigh, her fingers drawing nonsense patterns over her jeans for the past fifteen minutes, and it was entirely indecent how _wet_ the soft movements had made her. 

Nicole had kissed her twice and touched her never and she had already managed to bring her closer to orgasm than some of her previous lovers had in _years_ of having _actual_ sex. Where people _touch_ each other and stuff.

And that was _terrifying._

But it was more than that. The date had been perfect. Nicole had done _everything_ right, and Waverly was feeling all kinds of ways about that. Emotionally and physically. She was _so_ done picturing Nicole in her mind as she brought her own pleasure behind the safety of her bedroom door or under the blast of the shower. It wouldn't be enough now. She _needed_ to feel Nicole beneath her. 

Above her. 

_On_ her in any way possible. 

"Can I walk you to your door?" 

Nicole’s voice was soft as she broke through Waverly’s thoughts, and the brunette blushed as she snapped her head to meet her gaze. She laughed as Nicole’s words filtered into her brain.

"You live here!"

“Hey,” Nicole grinned, holding her hand out as if to halt Waverly’s thought process. "Let me be chivalrous."

Waverly giggled, shaking her head at the unexpected request and the ridiculous hopeful look on her date’s face.

"Yes," she grinned. " _Please_ walk me to my door."

Waverly bit her cheek in amusement as they reached the house and Nicole’s footsteps halted, the firefighter deliberately hanging back from the doorstep. She huffed out a soft chuckle as she turned around to face her date, the redhead smiling shyly as she rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous gesture. She _knew_ Nicole was playing up her role, but the effect was every bit as endearingly awkward as any first date that Waverly had ever been on, and she couldn't help but feel strangely overwhelmed by the adorable way that the redhead was delivering _exactly_ what she had promised. Warm mocha eyes sparkled with a hint of playfulness, but they shone earnest as they fixed on Waverly’s.

"Thank you, Waverly Earp, for being the most _extraordinary_ first date I’ve ever had."

Waverly sighed, amusement replaced immediately by an all out swoon. Was she falling?

She was pretty sure she was falling. 

"Are you just always gonna be this charming now?" She whispered, her smile definitely more coy than she had intended. 

“Haven’t I always been?” 

Nicole smirked, her voice low as she stepped up onto the doorstep, closing the gap between them, forcing Waverly to look up to keep her gaze. The space between them was so small that Waverly could _almost_ taste Nicole’s lips on the air, and she was far too entranced to even consider a response. 

Nicole chuckled lowly, a knowing glint in sparkling eyes. 

"If it's not too uh… _forward,_ for a first date…" she grinned, "I'd _really_ like to kiss you." 

Her dark eyes flickered between Waverly’s gaze and her lips, her nerves clear in her voice even through the playful undertones. Waverly giggled, wrapping her arms around the redhead’s neck and pulling her close.

" _Please do,_ " she murmured, her own eyes dropping to Nicole’s lips.

Nicole grinned, slipping her arms around Waverly’s waist and pulling her hips flush against her as she leaned in slowly. She let her lips brush teasingly light for a brief moment, before they captured Waverly’s slowly in a soft, lingering kiss that made the brunette’s toes tingle. The movements were so gentle, _so_ sweet, that Waverly's stomach could have held an aviary for all the beating wings that fluttered low in her belly. Nicole’s lips tasted like the apple and the cinnamon of the mulled cider, and her hands around Waverly’s waist were _just_ firm enough to raise goosebumps over the brunette’s skin. It was the _perfect_ first date kiss, and Waverly wasn’t sure she could ever have been ready for it to end. She whimpered softly as Nicole finally pulled back, her own cheeks flushed and her pupils blown wide. The redhead bit her lip as she held Waverly close to her for a moment longer, before she stepped backwards onto the gravel, the corners of her mouth curled into a soft smile.

"Goodnight, Waves."

Waverly giggled, shaking her head both in awe and in amusement as she watched Nicole retreat. 

"Where are you _going,_ you dingbat, you _live_ in here!"

"I promised you a proper first date.” Nicole shrugged, a cheeky smile dimpling her cheeks. “Butterflies on the doorstep." 

Waverly grinned, her stomach _definitely_ doing exactly as Nicole described. She shook her head, turning back to open the door. When she turned around again, she found Nicole sitting on the bonnet of her car, watching her with playful eyes. Waverly quirked an eyebrow, biting back her amusement.

"Are you expecting me to close this door on you?" 

Nicole just grinned wider, nodding her head eagerly as she leaned back on her hands, shifting herself further onto the bonnet. 

Waverly couldn’t hold back the coy giggles. There was no way she could deny that actually, the way it felt to watch Nicole’s soft eyes on her as she backed into the house and closed the door was _incredibly_ giddy. Her heart raced and her chest fluttered, and her cheeks hurt with the strain of the smitten smile that crinkled her eyes.

Yeah.

She was _definitely_ falling.

She took a long, shaky breath as she closed the door, leaning against it for the briefest of moments. She was _really_ hoping this night wasn’t ending here. She could feel her need for Nicole in every one of her bones, and the thick air between them on the ride home had suggested she wasn’t the only one. She shrugged her coat off, and kicked her boots onto the bottom of the shoe rack. She heard the crunch on the gravel as Nicole slid from the bonnet of her car, and she made an immediate decision. She rushed into the redhead’s bedroom, flicked on the low lamp to the side of the bed, and scurried back to the doorway just as the sound of the keys turned in the door.

Waverly leaned against the frame of Nicole’s bedroom door, her heart pounding in her throat as she watched her roommate enter the house. The hallway was dark, lit only by the low glow of the lamp through the room behind her, but she could see _enough_. She could see enough to follow the way the redhead’s dark eyes mapped the scene before her, and to see the way her breath fell heavy as the implications behind it registered in her mind. Nicole’s eyes searched her own as she shook off her jacket, placing her shoes carefully beside Waverly’s haphazardly thrown ones. 

The eye contact was almost stifling. Neither spoke a whisper, and the silence only thickened the air between them. An effect so tense that Waverly could almost _feel_ it curling in her stomach and lower, pulling her breaths harder and _aching_ in her thighs. She watched the way Nicole’s chest heaved as she licked her lips slowly, her dark eyes burning into Waverly’s own, and she knew that the redhead could feel it too. 

Nicole took one slow, purposeful step forward, and Waverly let out a shaky exhale. Her entire body suddenly felt very, very overheated, the burn pulsing in her veins.

Nicole was moving so slowly, so carefully, and in the unbearable charge, Waverly couldn’t even begin to fathom _how_ she was managing to show this much restraint. But she understood _why._ This was on Waverly’s terms. This was Nicole laying herself bare, leaving Waverly to pull the strings. 

_Well._

Waverly’s _terms_ were that her lungs, her racing heart, and her pulsing core could not take another second of this. 

She surged forward, closing the gap between them in one stride. Nicole responded immediately, grabbing her firmly and tugging her against her body as she claimed her lips in a searing kiss, instantly deep and instantly _wanting._ Her hand gripped in brunette hair, the other clutching the small of Waverly’s back close as she kissed her, and Waverly’s entire body burned with the sensation of Nicole _everywhere._

Waverly barely noticed them move until her back hit the wall, Nicole’s body pinning her flush against it. The kiss grew firmer, dirtier, as flicks of Nicole’s tongue teased beyond Waverly’s lips, her hands roaming the brunette’s sides and the curves of her hips, pressing her further into the wall behind her. The push and pull and the roll of their bodies was torturous pleasure, lighting flames beneath Waverly’s skin that she had never felt blaze so strong before. The urgency for more was overwhelming, and she tugged at her own sweater, Nicole pulling back _just_ long enough to help her pull it over her head. As the fabric fell from her arms, Waverly’s hands made their way under the hem of the redhead’s shirt, her fingertips grasping at the soft curves at the dip of her waist, pulling her impossibly closer.

Firm, sure hands ran over Waverly’s thighs, wrapping behind and lifting her easily, pulling her legs around the redhead’s waist as her hips pinned her hard against the wall. Waverly groaned into the kiss. She felt _completely_ at Nicole’s mercy, but in all the _best_ possible ways, and she was starting to feel like she might not survive this night. When Nicole pulled back, her lips moving to trail searing, open mouthed kisses over Waverly’s neck, a hot tongue teasing the column of her throat, she _knew_ she wouldn’t survive this night. She threw her head back against the wall, fighting for the air in her lungs as Nicole bit down on her earlobe.

_“Fuck…”_

The whispered curse seemed to connect straight to some carnal part of Nicole’s desire, and she rolled her hips fluidly into Waverly’s core, a low groan vibrating over the shell of the brunette’s ear. The all out sexiest sound Waverly had _ever_ heard.

Oh _god._

Waverly’s mind was swimming, she could barely breathe, and she was almost writhing against the restraints of Nicole’s body, and she couldn’t even find it in her to feel any shame. The firefighter had pinned her to a wall, flicked her tongue over her pulse point and then _groaned_ in her ear, and honestly, _that_ was a _lot_ for a girl to take.

Waverly’s movements grew frantic as she pulled desperately at the redhead’s shirt, tugging at the buttons as Nicole’s lips consumed her own once more. Through some miracle, she finally managed to push the open spread of the shirt back, her mouth drying instantly at the feel of the newly exposed flesh beneath her fingers. She pushed Nicole back, her eyes dropping over the redhead’s torso unashamedly. Nicole’s bra was so much lacier, and so much more feminine than she had expected, and she felt a blistering rush of heat to her core at the sight of the curves that sat high in the lace. She bit her lip as she cupped them in her palms, sweeping her thumbs just once over already hardened nipples, Nicole’s responding low growl connecting straight to her clit. She repeated the movement, gasping as Nicole surged forwards, taking Waverly’s bottom lip between her own and sucking it into her mouth as her hands slid under the brunette’s thighs. Teasing fingertips _just_ brushed over the seam of her jeans and Waverly whimpered, the white-hot heat between her thighs almost painful. Nicole pulled back, her chest heaving, blackened eyes searching Waverly’s face as she visibly fought to compose herself for a moment.

“Wave….”

The gravel of arousal in her voice was instant fuel to the fire in Waverly’s core, and she sank her tongue into Nicole’s mouth, her hands sweeping down the redhead’s sides and tugging impatiently at the buckle of her belt. Nicole moaned, her hands flying to Waverly’s wrists, gripping them _just_ firmly enough to stoke the fire as she pinned them back above the brunette’s head, grinding her hips slowly into Waverly’s core.

“Waverly, are…”

“Do _not_ ask me if I’m sure, Haught.” Waverly cut her off, huffing a half laugh through her gasps of pleasure as Nicole’s hips continued their torturous grind.

Nicole chuckled as she moved her lips back over Waverly’s neck, the fingers of one hand still linked with Waverly’s above her head, the other sweeping down over the brunette’s side and back to her hips, pulling her roughly against her.

“Is that a yes?” 

Waverly could _feel_ the smug grin against the skin of her throat, but she couldn’t find it in her to care as an insistent tongue worked its way over her pulsepoint and up, curling in her ear in a move that was _pure_ filth, leaving her wetter than she was sure she had _ever_ been as her jaw dropped open, her head thudding back against the wall.

“ _God,_ yes.”

Waverly tugged firmly in red hair to pull Nicole’s lips back to her own, the responding groan making her shudder. Nicole lifted the brunette’s weight onto her waist, stumbling slightly as she carried them through the doorframe and into her room, kicking the door shut behind them. Waverly whimpered as Nicole threw them down onto the bed, hoisting the brunette’s thighs higher around her waist. The kisses were unashamedly carnal, brazenly lust fuelled, and yet there was something softer in the tease of the redhead’s tongue that just felt like _more._

Waverly squeaked in surprise as Nicole’s arms slipped beneath her waist and she pulled her up and around in a swift motion that landed her straddled over the redhead’s lap. 

_God,_ it was the way the firefighter could pull her around as if she weighed _nothing,_ that just sent blazing fire through her bloodstream _every_ time. 

Nicole’s hands ran instantly over the brunette’s ass, encouraging the start of a slow grind that throbbed in Waverly’s clit as the redhead began to trail heated kisses over her collarbone and her chest. Gentle fingers slipped smoothly beneath the straps of Waverly’s bra, sliding them down her shoulders as the redhead’s kisses reached the swell over the hem of the material. Waverly opened her mouth, a plea for Nicole to remove the bra on her tongue, but the words caught in a strained cry as the firefighter pulled the fabric down, immediately enveloping the brunette’s nipple in a searing hot mouth, her tongue rolling fluidly over the hardened bud.

Waverly was powerless to stop the moans that fell from her lips as she ground her hips into Nicole’s lap, her hands twisted in red hair for something to hold onto as the firefighter’s tongue worked its sheer magic on her nipples. Dark eyes fixed on her own as Nicole’s fingers found the clasp of her bra, and Waverly nodded, completely unable to form coherent words. The unbridled desire was painted clear across Nicole's face, and everything about it was driving Waverly crazy. To feel _this_ wanted. To be the reason that this _unbelievable_ woman was this lost in her lust and her need was almost overwhelming.

As the material of Waverly’s bra fell away, she watched almost nervously as dark eyes dropped, taking in the new territory. Nicole was still for a moment, her breathing hard as she just _looked_ , before she growled, spinning them effortlessly back around and pinning Waverly beneath her. The kiss somehow felt impossibly deeper than any had been before, and Waverly could barely form a coherent thought as she grasped at the clasp of Nicole’s bra, fumbling for a moment before she finally managed to release the hook. She watched, squirming slightly in anticipation as Nicole sat back, a mischievous tease in her eyes as she slowly let the material fall.

_Oh sweet fucking christ._

_How_ did she keep getting sexier? 

The perfect curves of Nicole’s breasts, and the hardened pink nipples that gave way to the soft, smooth, planes of her stomach made Waverly’s mouth water, and she let a strained groan fall from her lips at the sight. She pushed herself up, her tongue running firmly over a nipple, taking as much of the smooth curve of Nicole’s breast into her mouth as she could as the redhead gasped. Her hands flew to the leather of the firefighter’s belt, tugging firmly as she released it from the buckle. She switched the tease of her tongue across Nicole’s chest, the redhead beginning to writhe beneath her touch as she worked the button of her jeans, and eased down the zipper. She was too far gone. She _needed_ to feel Nicole beneath her fingers, and she slipped her hand into the redhead’s jeans, pressing firmly over the soaking material of lace underwear, earning a hiss of surprise and pleasure.

_"Wave…"_

Nicole closed her eyes for a moment, fighting for composure as she grabbed Waverly’s wrist. She smirked as she pushed her back and sank down heavily against her body, her lips and her tongue exploring every inch of her chest, and her abs, and down over her stomach. The heat behind her kiss only continued to grow stronger and stronger as her fingers worked the button of Waverly’s jeans. There was _nothing_ slow or gentle about the movements; _weeks_ of sexual tension, and 24 hours of pure torture amounting in a burning need that wouldn’t be satisfied until skin rolled against skin. 

Waverly could feel herself getting more than a little desperate, wriggling her hips and kicking at her own jeans as Nicole worked them down over her thighs with an irritatingly sexy smirk. She giggled as the redhead made a deliberate show of pulling the tight jeans and the socks off of the end of her feet, then stumbled gracelessly as she shuffled and kicked her way out of her own. The giggles petered off _very_ quickly into an appreciative groan as Waverly’s eyes scanned the sight of Nicole Haught in nothing but a pair of black lace panties.

 _“Fuck,_ Nic…”

Nicole winked, her parted lips curled into a smirk that was _way_ too cocky, and Waverly _hated_ that it turned her on _so_ much more. Nicole slowly slid the black lace material down over her own thighs, and Waverly’s core clenched tight at the sight of the firefighter completely bare before her for the first time. Waverly instinctively dropped her hand to her own underwear, slipping her fingers below the waistband in search of desperate relief. Nicole groaned, surging forward to grab Waverly’s wrist to halt her, her lips parting in arousal as hooded eyes traced the lacy teal underwear that the brunette _knew_ were soaked through. 

Waverly moaned loudly, her back arching as Nicole trailed her fingers lightly over the wet patch, exploring gently in a deliberate tease. She sobbed, her hips bucking in a desperate plea as the redhead placed a heated, open mouthed kiss on the fabric over her pulsing clit, her fingers closing over the sides of the material.

_"Yes!"_

Waverly pushed her hips forward, answering a question Nicole was yet to ask, and the redhead chuckled, her heated breath blowing gently over the brunette’s clit. Waverly watched, her breath halted in her throat as Nicole pulled the panties from her thighs, finally removing the last of the barriers between them. 

Nicole stared for a moment, hooded eyes filled with an intoxicating mix of complete adoration and blatant desire. Waverly’s blood seared in her veins, and she couldn’t help the way her body writhed a little on the mattress under the awed gaze, the movement enticing Nicole’s eyes back up to her own. She smirked, biting her lip as she beckoned with her finger.

"Get up here."

Nicole grinned as she moved up over Waverly, rolling her body in a deliciously torturous move as she sank down onto her, and both groaned loudly as skin _finally_ pressed against skin. Waverly twisted her hand into red hair, pulling Nicole into a passionate kiss, the movements slow and drawn out as they both enjoyed the way warm, silky skin felt as they pushed and pulled against each other. 

Waverly _knew_ that they could tease each other into their own personal heaven and hell combined. 

She knew that they _would._

They had been doing it for weeks. 

But they _both_ knew that now was not the time for the tease and the game. They needed to _feel_ each other. To finally release the heightened tension that had wrapped around them, tightening and burning in their chests and low in their stomachs for so long. Nicole’s dark eyes fixed on Waverly’s, the flickering fire behind them saying everything she needed to without a word. Waverly nodded, whimpering in surrender as Nicole’s fingers finally trailed between her legs, slipping softly over her clit. 

_"Fuck,_ Waverly." Nicole groaned, her voice husky with arousal as she felt the extent of the brunette’s desire for her. 

_Oh._

_Fuck._

The electricity burned on Nicole’s fingertips like magic, and Waverly’s moans fell freely as they began to circle slowly over her clit. Nicole looked as far gone as Waverly felt, and the desire in her eyes combined with the relief of finally being touched was pushing the brunette closer to the edge by the second. She didn’t need this to be dragged out. She needed to feel _more_. Needed Nicole to tear her apart. 

"Baby, _please._ "

Nicole’s eyes widened, their colour flickering with something softer that twinged deep in Waverly’s belly. She slipped her tongue over Waverly’s upper lip, then bit down firmly on the lower, pulling it out towards her as she squeezed her clit gently between the sides of her fingers. Waverly groaned. _How_ could those eyes be so sweet while her actions were so filthy?

"Say that again," Nicole murmured.

Waverly furrowed her brows, the burning pleasure between her legs as Nicole’s fingers sped up over her clit distracting her far too much to understand the request.

Then it clicked. 

She smirked. Or she tried to, but she was rapidly losing her mind, and her moans were still falling thick and fast as Nicole worked her torturous magic.

"Please just fuck me…" Waverly tugged in Nicole’s hair, keeping her eyes trained on fiery mocha as she husked her voice, letting the word that she knew the redhead wanted to hear again fall with a well timed moan. _"Baby."_

Nicole groaned, sinking two fingers firmly into Waverly’s core, pressing instantly into every spot that begged to be touched. Waverly cried out, her head thrown back and her back arched as she hurtled dangerously quickly towards the edge. Nicole’s lips and tongue _devoured_ her jaw, and her neck, and her ears, and her shoulders as insistent fingers lifted her into a state of pleasure that she couldn’t remember _ever_ feeling before. There was nothing slow. No build up. Nicole was buried deep, her fingers hitting _that_ spot that burned so deliciously, over and over. Their bodies were so close; their movements so tight that Nicole was barely even thrusting. She rocked her hips against the back of her hand, the palm grinding against Waverly’s clit and her fingertips nudging insistently over that sweet spot that was bound to tear the brunette apart. Waverly could barely breathe, her hands clutching at muscular shoulders, and the smooth skin of Nicole’s back, and the curves of her sides and her hips and her ass. _Anything_ that would keep that delicious contact as close as possible as her body started to tremble with unbearable pleasure.

" _Ugh,_ baby,” Nicole’s low voice murmured in her ear. “You feel _so_ good."

It was instantaneous. 

A few husked words and a low, gravelly groan into her ear and Waverly was falling apart, her entire body lifting and arching into Nicole’s as she crashed hard around the redhead’s fingers, hoarse cries of her name echoing in the air between them.

Waverly’s head swam as Nicole eased her down from her high, and she gripped desperately at the firefighter’s hair, urging her lips back to meet her own. Nicole kissed her deeply, her fingers beginning to move once more in subtle, teasing thrusts. Waverly was pretty sure she could continue to fall apart again and again and again around Nicole, but she needed to feel her now. She needed to hear those sounds for _her_.

"Baby,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with the gravel of desire and the strain of her moans. “I want to…"

Nicole nodded, her eyes flickering with arousal as she seemed to understand Waverly’s request. She withdrew her fingers with a lopsided grin, bringing them to her lips and sucking one into her mouth. Waverly sobbed, her arousal spiking hard as Nicole’s eyes rolled back and she groaned at the taste of the brunette in her mouth. Waverly growled, gripping Nicole’s wrist to halt her before she could repeat her actions on the second finger. She smirked, holding Nicole’s gaze as she brought it to her own lips, wrapping her tongue around the redhead’s finger in a deliberately languid movement.

Nicole’s eyes glazed as she watched, her jaw slackened, and she didn’t even try to fight it as Waverly pushed her back, pinning her beneath her on the mattress.

Waverly didn’t even bother to tease. She knew what she wanted, and she knew that Nicole was already on the edge. She could see it in blown pupils, and hooded eyes. Hear it in gentle gasps and heaving breaths, and see it in flushed cheeks and a reddened chest. 

So she held Nicole’s blackened gaze, and lowered her lips to trail burning kisses over her body; her chest and her nipples, her ribs, the soft curves of her stomach, the dip of her hips. Waverly bit down gently on the mound of flesh between the redhead’s thighs, and she smirked as she watched the fire in Nicole’s eyes get hotter, her body writhing in anticipation as she processed what the brunette intended to do to her. 

Waverly wasn’t teasing.

She settled the tip of her tongue lightly over the redhead’s entrance, moaning viscerally as she tasted the extent of Nicole’s desire. She swiped her tongue up, long, and broad and slow, moaning as she reached the redhead’s pulsing clit, sucking it immediately into her mouth. 

_Oh holy shit._

The _taste_ and the _scent_ and the _silk_ and those fucking _sounds._

Oh god, Waverly had never heard sounds like the ones that fell from Nicole’s lips. Groans that were somehow both soft and feminine, and hoarse and gravelly at the same time, and they were _doing_ things to Waverly like nothing else. She rocked her own hips against the mattress, the pressure building fast between her own legs as she flicked her tongue over Nicole’s clit. 

She could say for sure that she had never come going down on someone before, but she had a _damn_ good feeling she was about to.

Nicole’s hands pulled tight in her hair, her body writhing above her, her legs and her arms flailing against the sheets as the brunette’s tongue pushed her closer to the edge, and Waverly was lust drunk. The taste and the feel on her tongue, the ripple of muscles, the red flush of skin, the parted, swollen lips, the groans and pleas. All of it was just unbelievable, and she was losing herself fervently in everything that was Nicole Haught. 

She needed to feel Nicole’s orgasm _everywhere_. As the muscles of the redhead’s stomach clenched tighter, her thighs beginning to tremble in the signs of her approaching climax, Waverly sank two fingers in hard, curling them firmly against the front wall. The deep, guttural groan that burst from Nicole’s chest was too much for Waverly to take, and she bore her hips down hard, her own orgasm washing through her with a long, broken moan that vibrated around the redhead’s clit. Nicole’s eyes flew wide, shocked arousal searing through them as she seemed to realise the reason for Waverly’s moan and she sobbed. With one more curl of the brunette’s fingers, Nicole’s eyes rolled back, and she gripped hard in Waverly’s hair as she fell apart with an earth shattering cry, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Waverly made her way slowly back up over Nicole’s body as the redhead recovered from her high, eventually claiming kiss-swollen lips beneath her own. Soft moans and gentle gasps filled the room as they slid against each other, enjoying the burn of the afterglow. The touch between them still seared, but the edge of urgency was fading, making room for slower movements and softer teasing.

Kissing Nicole Haught was guaranteed to be something that Waverly would _never_ get tired of. The way it ebbed from burning heat, to passion, to softness, and straight back, all without ever breaking the contact of their lips was a testament to the connection and the chemistry and the genuine feelings that were so clearly already defined between them, and Waverly was sure she could lose herself in it forever.

 _"Oh_ my _god_!" Nicole groaned, burying her face in Waverly’s cheek as she planted soft kisses along the flushed skin there.

"Yeah…" Waverly sighed, the corners of her lips twitching.

"I mean…" Nicole grinned, pulling back to connect sparkling eyes with Waverly’s as her fingertips traced gentle patterns over the skin of the brunette’s chest. "Not to brag, but…"

"We're really fucking good at that?" Waverly smirked.

"We are _really_ fucking good at that."

"You, Nicole Haught, are the gift that keeps on giving." Waverly grinned, tracing the lines of Nicole’s collarbone with her fingers.

Nicole laughed openly, rolling Waverly beneath her and shuffling herself down so that she could plant a soft, warm kiss on Waverly’s chest, directly over her heart. 

Waverly melted. 

Honestly. How is a person _so_ fucking searingly hot, and then such a soft sweetheart not three seconds later?

Yeah, she was falling, alright.

"I told you you'd be bad for my ego, Earp." Nicole grinned, laying another kiss over the same spot.

"Hmmm.” Waverly sighed, every nerve in her body singing with complete elation. She grinned. “Honestly, I don't even have a quick quip, you earned the praise."

"Well…" 

Nicole chuckled softly, her kisses moving downwards as she began to trail over the brunette’s abs and her stomach, her goal increasingly clear with each press of her lips to heated skin. 

"I _really_ think I should earn a little more."


	8. Well, This is Quite the Greeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last chapter was exhausting, but the feedback made it sooooo worth it 😂 thank you!
> 
> Yes, the chapter count changed again... this time it's for good 😉 There will be 13, it is now set in stone haha.
> 
> Happy Tuesday!

Waverly woke slowly, the morning sun filtering softly through the crack in the curtains. Her chest felt light, her body tingling and aching in the most delicious ways, and she was aware, even as her sleep still gripped her mind, of the comfortable warmth of Nicole’s body pressed against her back. She nestled herself deeper into the embrace with a giddy smile as she let her mind wander over the previous day. Everything about it made her heart swell; the soft words that Nicole had spoken in the early morning, the completely enchanting date, and the smouldering fire of the hours spent learning each other’s curves and sighs and tastes. She felt elated. She couldn’t ever remember a time when she had been this happy, and there was definitely something in that that was charmingly frightening. She grinned, unable to help but press herself back further, the silk of Nicole’s sleep-warm skin too blissful against her own to resist. She sighed, a light shiver running down her spine as she felt Nicole hum softly against the skin at the top of her back, her lips pursing to place a gentle kiss there as she stirred.

“Mmm, mornin’,” Nicole murmured, the curl of her smile brushing against Waverly’s goosebumped skin. She flexed her arm closer around the brunette’s waist, pulling her tight against her as she placed another, warmer kiss at the base of her neck.

Waverly hummed, her hand finding Nicole’s and linking their fingers together, bringing them up to her lips. She could feel that dimpled smile grow wider against her skin at the gentle contact and she smirked, trailing her lips over the redhead’s fingers. The smile dropped, a huff of hot breath hitting the top of Waverly’s spine as she flicked her tongue over the tip of Nicole’s finger, sucking it deeply into her mouth. The redhead’s hips pressed forward instinctively, the heated flesh between her thighs pressing into the curve of Waverly’s ass.

 _“Sneaky,”_ she breathed, her voice husky with traces of sleep and the fresh embers of desire.

“Mmm.” Waverly turned herself around, a dirty smirk pulling at her lips as she met Nicole’s eyes for the first time. She trailed her fingers over the redhead’s thigh. “You just _taste_ too good.”

Nicole grinned, leaning in to connect their lips in a slow, sensual kiss. The warmth of sleep and blankets merged with the movement of their lips into a heat that rippled beneath Waverly’s skin as their fingers began to wander each other’s bodies. Every touch was soft, and slow; lazy trails of fingers and palms over thighs; teasing traces of nails over curves and lines of muscle; light circles of fingertips around hardening nipples and over the trembling softness of stomachs. The kisses deepened, but they stayed lingering and slow, the simmering heat between them building unhurriedly with their aimless exploration of each other’s waking bodies.

Waverly trailed her fingers slowly up the inside of Nicole’s thigh, the movement light but purposeful. Heat flooded her core as the redhead let out a shaky sigh, her legs parting instinctively in anticipation of the touch she knew was coming. Waverly's stomach twinged hot as she ran a single finger through silky wet heat, enjoying the way Nicole’s eyes flickered closed, her brow creased and her lips parted in pleasure. She kept her explorations slow, still languid and lazy as she mapped circles around the redhead’s swollen clit, her own core twisting and her breaths falling a little heavier with the way the hardened bud pulsed against her fingertips. She watched Nicole’s face, her desire growing hotter at the way the firefighter's lower lip trembled slightly as her gasps grew thicker, her hooded eyes flickering each time gentle fingertips flicked over her clit. 

She was so focused on the signs of pleasure in Nicole’s face that she barely noticed the touch over her own stomach, until the redhead’s hand slipped between her legs, wandering fingertips beginning their own lazy explorations. Their kisses grew fewer, their eyes roaming each other’s flushed faces as their breaths began to fall heavier, soft gasps tumbling from trembling lips. Waverly fixed her gaze on Nicole's pleasure-drunk eyes, waiting for them to flick back to her own before she pushed forward, sliding her finger slowly into the redhead’s swollen core. The firefighter’s eyes glazed almost instantly, and she tensed, her chest starting to heave as her pleasure became too strong to fight. Waverly could feel the muscles of the redhead’s thighs starting to tighten around her wrist and she shuddered, her own blood boiling through her veins at the thought that she could _do_ this to Nicole. That she could _touch_ her. That she could make her feel this way. 

She whimpered, her forehead falling forward to rest on Nicole’s as the redhead’s fingers followed suit, sliding unbearably slowly into Waverly’s already clenching centre. Their eyes locked together, their noses brushing against each other as they moved, occasional warm, lazy kisses interspersing the heavy breaths and soft gasps and moans.

Nicole fell first, her whimpered cry broken into Waverly’s kiss as she clenched hard around the brunette’s fingers. The _sound,_ and the way she _felt_ , and the way her fingers curled just that little bit harder as she surrendered to her orgasm were too much for Waverly, sending her soaring straight off the edge close behind, burying her face into Nicole’s neck as she moaned her name into her heated skin.

There was an easy quiet for a moment as they floated down from their shared high, soft, sated smiles on both of their lips. Their hands seamlessly resumed their lazy trails over arms and chests and necks, as if they could never get enough of the way each other felt beneath their fingertips. Waverly sighed, a slow grin spreading across her face.

“Good morning to you too, Haught.”

Nicole chuckled, her grin almost dopey in her sated state, her eyes sparkling with their usual playfulness.

“I _know_ , right? Here I was thinking I needed a roommate for a few cuddles…” She winked, grinning cheekily as Waverly laughed. “You _really_ know how to go the extra mile, don’t you, Earp?”

“Fuck off.” Waverly scowled, flicking Nicole’s earlobe. "Asshole."

Nicole chuckled, catching Waverly’s offending fingers and turning her hand to plant a kiss on the palm before releasing it.

Waverly trailed her hand over Nicole’s shoulder, wriggling her eyebrows as she wrapped her fingers around the edge of the blanket and cheekily tugged it back, exposing the redhead’s body to the cool morning air. Nicole lifted herself up onto her elbow, watching in amusement as Waverly roamed her fingers and her eyes leisurely over the porcelain skin and the intoxicating mix of muscle and softness, down to the glistening apex of her thighs that Waverly would happily build a new home in given half an opportunity. 

The brunette bit back a growl, swallowing thickly. They may have slept together, but she still wasn't sure it was acceptable to just grunt like an animal at the mere sight of practically fucking _edible_ curves.

Not _yet,_ anyway. 

She hummed, her thoughts softening as her fingers mapped over a thick scar over the curve of the redhead’s hip.

“What’s this from?”

“Being a goddamn hero.” Nicole grinned, her eyebrow quirked, then chuckled softly as Waverly rolled her eyes. “House fire a few years ago. The flames were pretty advanced by the time we realised there was a child in one of the bedrooms. By the time I had a hold of her and was making my way out, the beams were starting to fall.” She winced as she tilted her head towards the scar. “Kinda got a bit pierced.”

Waverly’s breath caught in her throat, and her chest closed tight as the reality of Nicole’s job hit home. She _knew_ it was more than a sexy uniform and cats in trees, of _course_ she did, but Nicole always seemed to carry herself with such an air of strength and confidence that it had never really occurred to her that the firefighter could, had, and likely would get hurt again. She swallowed hard, and asked the only question she could force her lips to shape.

“Was the little girl okay?”

“Of _course_.” Nicole scoffed playfully, hooking her finger beneath Waverly’s chin and pulling her up to meet her gaze. “Because I am a goddamn _hero,_ do you not listen to anything I say?” She grinned, her voice playful but her eyes softer as they searched Waverly’s.

Waverly couldn’t help but laugh, swatting Nicole’s chest lightly in reprimand, but she understood. She had lost herself in those mocha eyes enough times now to know that the softness in them meant that she _knew_. She knew where Waverly’s mind had gone, and this was her way of saying it was okay. Nicole Haught was soft but she was _strong,_ and she was someone who made her peace with the trauma of her job every day when she walked through the door to her home. The easy heroism jokes were _always_ spoken in such a way that betrayed no traces of genuine arrogance or self-entitlement, and Waverly had quickly understood that they were, in their own way, merely an _acceptance_ of the dangers of the firefighter's life. She had absolutely no doubt that Nicole Haught couldn’t see herself _less_ as a hero, and that she simply saw herself as working her hardest in the job that she loved. 

Waverly smiled softly. That much was _very_ apparent. Nicole _loved_ what she did. It showed in deep, earnest eyes.

"You’re pretty incredible, Nic, you know that?" She whispered, her fingers tracing the scar over her hip once more, her eyes roaming the redhead’s face.

Nicole blushed, her eyes misting and her cheeks dimpling in an abashed smile. There was something _so_ uncharacteristically shy; _vulnerable,_ in the way that her eyes dropped and her breath caught in her throat, that Waverly couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed in the moment. She needed to say something else. 

_Anything._

Before she said something stupid, like suggest they get a cat and have a summer wedding in Bali.

“What about this one?” She traced her finger lightly over a thinner, rawer looking scar over the top of the redhead’s thigh.

“ _Dramatically_ less heroic.” Nicole grinned, shaking her head with a roll of her eyes. “Robin panicked the first time he used the master stream. Said he couldn’t see through the fog of the water, broke a few windows then wiped out the entire team with the hose blast.”

Waverly’s eyes creased immediately, her giggles wracking her stomach as she visualised the ridiculous scenario. 

_"You_ would have _loved_ it." Nicole grinned, wriggling her eyebrows. "A whole team of _drenched_ firefighters with their suspenders round their waists.” 

Waverly quirked an eyebrow, letting a dirty smirk cross her lips.

“There is really only _one_ firefighter I’m interested in objectifying, Haught.” 

She grinned as she placed her hands on Nicole’s shoulders, pushing her onto her back. She let the blankets fall around her thighs as she moved herself over the redhead’s hips, straddling her. Nicole huffed out a half laugh, her eyes darkening as they dropped over Waverly’s exposed body, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. The firefighter's hands slid firmly over Waverly’s thighs as the brunette began to grind her hips in slow rotations.

"You should _really_ bring that uniform home," Waverly murmured with a smirk, her voice falling breathy as she ground down against Nicole. "So I can show you _just_ how _much_ I really appreciate it."

Nicole's eyes glinted with mischief, and she grinned as she wrapped her hands beneath the brunette’s thighs. Waverly gasped as Nicole tugged, hoisting her with _alarming_ strength up over her torso, setting her down with her knees either side of the redhead's face. She groaned, shock and arousal searing straight through her core. 

_Jesus Christ._

She was pretty sure Nicole could yeet her off the top of a moving subway train with that effortless strength, and Waverly would still willingly spread her legs and beg for release.

It was _disgusting_.

"Ugh, Haught it is _criminal_ how fucking sexy you are." She groaned, not even caring how brazen the words were. "It really should be illegal, you can't just…"

Nicole chuckled, and cut her off by pulling her hips down, wrapping her lips around her clit and rolling it firmly over her tongue. 

" _Fuck_."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"What do you think you're doing?"

Nicole halted over her open bedroom drawer, oversized T-shirt in hand. She quirked an eyebrow as she spun to face Waverly.

"Coffee?" She grinned. "Figured I'd save you your daily throwdown with the machine."

"Please, that thing is the antichrist, but…" 

Waverly smirked, clambering out of bed and sidling up beside Nicole, easing the T-shirt from her hand and stuffing it back in the drawer. The redhead watched, biting her cheek in amusement as Waverly fished around for a moment, before pulling out a sports bra and a pair of tight boxers that Nicole used as sleepwear. The brunette thrust them into the firefighter’s arms, grinning triumphantly as she skipped off back towards the bed.

"That's the most you're allowed to wear today."

Nicole rolled her eyes, chuckling as she pulled the minimal clothing on. She raced back to kiss Waverly hotly once more, before she padded off to the kitchen to make their coffee.

Nicole was pretty sure she had never been quite so dreamy, her head fully in the clouds as she pottered about the kitchen making the drinks. She had done a _lot_ of daydreaming (and actual dreaming, and filthy fantasising) about Waverly over the past couple of months, but _nothing_ could have prepared her for the reality of finally feeling the brunette beneath her, and she had a sneaky feeling the daydreaming was only going to get worse with each new memory that was slotted into the bank.

She scooped the coffee mugs into her hands, almost completely oblivious to the world around her as she wandered into the hallway, her head in a very specific, _very_ indulgent cloud shaped rather like the way Waverly’s tongue felt when it did that thing where she…

"Well, this is _quite_ the greeting!"

 _"Shit."_

Nicole jumped, wincing as scalding liquid spilled over the edges of the coffee mugs and onto her skin. She had most definitely not expected a stranger in her hallway this morning, and how had she _not_ heard them enter?

Oh, yeah, that thing with Waverly’s tongue and the way it made her…

"Haught, right?" 

_Fuck._

There seemed to be a casual intruder in her hallway, who just happened to know her name, and her brain _still_ couldn’t stop its slideshow images of every filthy position Waverly Earp had cried her name in over the past twelve hours. 

Nicole shook her head, determined to force her brain to focus on the arguably much more pressing matter at hand. The strange brunette in her hallway was both familiar and unfamiliar, and Nicole had a pretty strong feeling she knew _exactly_ why. The woman leaned casually against the wall, _almost_ bored if not for the mischievous glint in her piercing blue eyes as she dropped them deliberately over Nicole’s state of undress. Nicole rolled her eyes as the brunette tilted her head towards the trail of clothes that scattered along the hallway and into her room. 

"Busy?" She quirked an eyebrow, a knowing smirk on her lips.

"A little." Nicole smirked. "Wynonna, I presume?"

"That obvious?"

"You're the only other person I'm told has a _key_ , so it's hopeful thinking." Nicole grinned. "Plus your face is on my living room wall."

"And your abs are on my fridge. Great to finally put a face to the…" Wynonna grimaced as she waved a hand in the direction of Nicole’s stomach. "Grease."

Nicole screwed her face up.

 _"Why_ are…" She trailed off with a resigned sigh as Wynonna’s raised eyebrow answered the question she hadn't really needed to ask. 

She was really beginning to regret that _damn_ calendar.

Just _how many_ of these things was her roommate responsible for plastering around Purgatory?

"I take it Waves isn't here?" Wynonna pushed herself off of the wall, twirling her key around her index finger as she spoke.

Nicole swallowed. What was the correct answer here?

Yes she's here, you'll find her naked in my room but trigger alert; it _really_ smells like sex.

Or no, she's not here, fuck off as quickly as possible so that I can potentially spend the next hour trying to convince Waverly that I definitely wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed.

She shrugged. When in doubt, be as vaguely honest as possible. 

"Uh… no, she's here."

Wynonna halted, her eyebrow flying up as she dropped her gaze once more to Nicole’s very unforgiving boxers, then the clothing trail. Nicole held her breath, suddenly _really_ hoping that the light grey of the boxers wasn’t visibly betraying the state of arousal she’d been in all morning. She shuffled, closing her thighs. Just in case. 

"You got your rocks off in the hallway with my baby sister home?"

Maybe she didn't think this all the way to the end. 

"Y… yes?"

No. She should definitely have gone with no.

This felt a bit like an unavoidable trap.

 _"Wow._ Talk about roommate from hell." Wynonna rolled her eyes, giving Nicole a look that somehow seemed both disgusted and impressed simultaneously. " _Waves?"_ She took a step forward, heading towards the living room as she called out.

"Wynonna?"

Waverly’s confused voice called out in reply, the slightly muffled sound coming, very unmistakably, from the redhead’s bedroom.

Nicole froze.

So did Wynonna. 

Nicole was fairly sure she had never felt so uncomfortable as Wynonna’s face dropped all expression, and she simply stared for a long, painfully silent moment at the redhead’s eyes. Nicole was _so_ much more aware than ever of the fact that she really didn't have enough clothes on for this meeting. And she had _no_ idea what to do with her face.

She had a feeling her dimples weren't gonna win her this one.

Waverly's flustered appearance in the doorway was both a blessing and a curse, and Nicole resisted the urge to hide behind her as she gratefully accepted the robe the brunette hastily swapped for a mug of coffee.

Could anything make this more awkward?

"Wy! I-I see you've met Nicole, my er…"

The silence as Waverly trailed off was, apparently, the _one_ thing that could have made it more awkward. Wynonna quirked an eyebrow, the first move her face had made in several minutes, and Nicole felt Waverly tense beside her as she held her breath. 

"Babygirl, _that…"_ Wynonna waved her hand dismissively over the length of Nicole’s body as the redhead twisted and fumbled to pull the robe on with her one free hand. "Is disgusting.”

She stepped forward, boldly taking the coffee mug from Nicole’s hand and taking a sip.

"And I have never been more proud of you. Now put some clothes on Haught, someone's making me pancakes and I'm nominating _you_ for fucking my baby sister and looking so goddamn _smug_ about it."

Nicole bit her lip, fully aware that the shit eating grin that wanted to spread across her face was _not_ the appropriate response in this moment.

"Thanks for the coffee." Wynonna tilted the mug at Nicole as she moved to step past her. She paused as she reached the redhead’s side, dropping her voice low enough that only Nicole could hear her. "We'll talk later." 

Nicole rolled her eyes as she watched Wynonna stomp into the kitchen. She knew from everything that Waverly had told her, that Wynonna would protect her sister with her life. Bolshy, dominant, stubborn, reckless. Fiercely loyal, fiercely protective. But Nicole prided herself in her ability to read people, and what she was reading was that there was something in those blue eyes and the twitch at the corners of her lips that betrayed the hardened exterior. Not _quite_ serious enough to be intimidating.

Yeah.

She and Wynonna Earp would get along _just_ fine.

Waverly’s arm wrapped around her waist and she smirked, turning to face the brunette with narrowed eyes and a question on her lips.

"You wanna explain to me why my abs are on your sister’s fridge?"

"A girl can never be _too_ prepared for March 2021." Waverly shrugged, though the glint in her eyes betrayed her mirth.

“How many did you buy, Waverly?”

“Four.”

“Fou…” Nicole counted them off in her head. _“Where_ is the other one?”

 _"Waverly,”_ Wynonna’s brash voice called from the kitchen, “where do you keep your whiskey?"

Waverly beamed brightly, her face a picture of innocence as she shrugged, planting a kiss on Nicole’s cheek and trotting off in the direction of her sister. 

“Asshole.” Nicole shook her head as she watched her go, unable to stop a bemused grin from spreading across her face.

Nicole dressed slowly, hoping to allow Waverly enough time to field whatever questions Wynonna might throw at her in whatever way she saw fit, before she herself had to face the music again. By the time she made her way into the kitchen, Waverly was already whisking up the pancake mix and Wynonna was sat at the kitchen island, swinging aimlessly on a high stool.

"Haught.” Wynonna patted the stool beside her. “Join me and Waves for drinks tonight?"

Waverly spun to face her sister, her brow creased in confusion.

"Since _when_ were we going for drinks tonight?"

Wynonna shrugged, pointing at Nicole as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Since I found your naked girlfriend in your hallway and figured I've got some digging to do."

Nicole held her breath as Waverly just stared blankly at her sister for a long moment. Then bemused hazel eyes flicked to her own, and Nicole huffed out a laugh, simply shrugging. 

Waverly sighed, her shoulders dropping as she resigned herself.

"I'll call Jeremy and Chrissy."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly chuckled as Nicole pressed against her back, her arms slipping around her waist and her lips immediately finding the spot just behind her ear that made her shiver. It turned out that a drunk Nicole Haught was _very_ handsy, and frankly Waverly was having a really hard time resisting the urge to drag her into the bar’s bathroom and push her to her knees. _Especially_ with the way those hands kept tracing the waistband of her skirt, slipping just below and twisting into the sides of her underwear. She bit back her shudder as she thanked the bartender, and turned to push two glasses into Nicole’s roaming hands. 

Anything to keep them from pulling her apart in the middle of a crowded bar.

“Take the other one to Wynonna, baby, let me just settle up here.” 

Nicole pouted, and Waverly grinned as she bit down on it. It was irresistible, it would never get old.

She pushed Nicole’s shoulders, spinning her and tapping her lightly on the ass as she sent her off in the direction of their group. She grinned as she watched the redhead’s slightly unsteady steps, shaking her head as she turned back to the bar to finish up her order.

She kept her eyes on the tray of drinks as she weaved her way back to her friends, halting dead in her tracks when she finally lifted her gaze to the group. She bit her lip, her eyes misting instantly in amusement as she watched Nicole, wide eyed and rigid, awkwardly trying to shuffle her body away from the advances of a clearly _very_ lost young man. 

“Shall we tell him?” Wynonna wrapped her arm around Waverly’s shoulders as she appeared at her side, biting back her own laughter as she watched the scene unfold.

Waverly nodded, more than ready to swoop in and save the flustered firefighter. That was until they got close enough to hear the slightly slurred ramblings that poured from Nicole’s lips. She held a hand out to halt Wynonna, biting her lip with a grin.

"You seem like a real cool guy and all but…" Nicole rested her hand on her admirer's shoulder as she stumbled slightly, a dopey grin spreading across her lips. "But I've got _Waverly_ , and she's a _lot_ more beautiful than you are. And she's super smart, and she's very funny. _And_ she's super smart." 

Waverly could _feel_ Wynonna’s eye roll, and she scoffed. As if _anyone_ could claim this wasn't the cutest thing they had ever seen.

The guy frowned.

"You telling me you got a girlfriend?"

Waverly’s heart stopped. People _really_ needed to stop throwing that word at them before they’d had a chance to process anything that had happened between them!

Nicole seemed to blank for a moment, and her brow creased as she stared at the man for a pause that was _way_ too long to be comfortable for anyone involved.

" _Well,_ I dunno." Nicole hiccupped, then frowned, the crease in her brow making Waverly’s knees weak. "I like her a heck’ve a lot and I… I think _I'm…_ I'm _her_ girlfriend, but I dunno if _she's_ gonna be _my_ girlfriend?"

Waverly melted. Even in her stumbling, barely intelligible state, Nicole Haught still oozed charm in a way that made Waverly’s ovaries ache. _God,_ she was falling for this idiot.

She ignored Wynonna’s forced gags behind her, and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist as she approached her side. The redhead recoiled, whipping her head around, then relaxed as her eyes landed on the brunette, a slow, beaming grin spreading across her face.

" _Hey,_ baby. You're so pretty." Nicole wrapped an arm over Waverly’s shoulders, pulling her close. She turned her head back to her new acquaintance, pointing at the brunette with a smug grin. "Isn't she so pretty?"

"Yo, Haughtshit, you ready to move on?" Wynonna pushed herself between Nicole and the bewildered man, wrapping an arm around the redhead’s shoulder. “Jeremy and Robin are making me sick and Chrissy and I need to go find some better talent than this drivel.” She cocked a thumb over her shoulder at the man who had tried his luck with Nicole, and was now unashamedly staring at Wynonna’s ass.

Waverly scanned her eyes over her group of friends. She knew full well that they would _not_ be moving on. Jeremy looked about ready to climb into Robin’s khakis, and Chrissy was a very suspicious shade of white that suggested she definitely couldn’t handle as many Mango Daquiris as she thought she could. And Wynonna had shoved far too many disgustingly flavoured shots into Nicole’s hands, and both looked way too prepared to do anything the other told her to, and that was _not_ a safe combination. So no. No moving on. Waverly would be wrestling Wynonna into the house and depositing her into her bed while she climbed in with Nicole. 

Waverly watched as Robin and Jeremy bundled Chrissy into a cab, promising to get her home safely. She rolled her eyes with a soft smile as she scurried after her sister and her roommate stumbling just ahead, arm in arm.

A dangerous combination.

But one that made her chest swell with contentment all the same.

"Me and you, we're both heroes of the world, Haught,” Wynonna declared, far too proudly.

Nicole frowned.

"You sell beer."

 _"Exactly,_ we both save lives." Wynonna slapped a hand across Nicole’s chest. "Oh _shit,_ do you know parkour?"

Waverly intervened. It felt necessary. 

_"Why_ would she know parkour?" She glanced at Nicole, whose face was screwed in confusion. _"Do_ you know parkour?"

"Well like… jumping over flames and shit?" Wynonna shrugged, her eyes wide with excitement.

"That is _not_ the same." Waverly eyed her sister warily. 

It was frighteningly quiet for a moment. 

"It does sound _kinda_ the same," Nicole’s eyes glazed and her lips pursed in thought as she nodded.

Waverly shot her eyes to Nicole. 

"It is _not_ the same, Nic."

"I feel like it's the same." Wynonna shrugged.

"How hard could it _really_ be?" Nicole’s voice grew curious, her eyes drifting. 

" _Very_ hard.” Waverly flicked her eyes back to her sister. “Wynonna stop encouraging her, she's just gonna end up getting…"

The movement was far faster than it should have been considering not five seconds ago, Nicole had been struggling to walk straight. She took a fleeting run up, pulling her knees up high as she hurtled herself surprisingly impressively over a traffic post. 

Then she jumped at a wall, and honestly Waverly wasn’t even sure what the aim had been. She just crashed immediately into the brick and slid to the floor. 

A lead balloon would have made it further.

" _Hurt!_ " Waverly shrieked, as Nicole groaned.

Nicole flopped onto her back, and Wynonna’s laughter bounced off of the offending wall, echoing in Waverly’s ear as she ran to the redhead’s aid.

"That was _so_ good, dude.” Wynonna laughed. “You should do another one and I'll film it."

Nicole’s eyes looked a little dazed, and Waverly worried for a moment, until the redhead’s lopsided grin spread across dimpled cheeks.

"I think _maybe_ it was a once in a lifetime kind of achievement."

Waverly rolled her eyes, huffing out a chuckle as she brushed her hand gently over Nicole’s face, pushing red hair out of misty eyes. She leaned in, capturing the firefighter’s lips in a soft kiss. Nicole sighed, her eyes sparkling with something that made Waverly’s stomach flip as she searched the brunette’s face.

“I really wanna be your girlfriend, Waverly Earp."

  
  



	9. What Was That For?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your continued kudos and comments and tweets, it makes every hour spent on this fully worthwhile!!
> 
> Some people have mentioned angst. Angst is a myth guys, what is angst? 😉😉
> 
> This fic is my cathartic escape from the shit-tornado that is this world right now, so I'm sorry to tell those of you asking that no, there will be no angst and Nicole will not burn in a five-alarm fire.
> 
> Is that a spoiler?
> 
> I'm kind of concerned if it is, to be honest 😉
> 
> Happy Friday!!

Waverly kicked the bedroom door closed behind her as she manoeuvred the tray of eggs, bacon and toast, and the screw flask of coffee she had been carrying into the room and placed it carefully down on Nicole’s bedside table. She would never normally cook meat, but she knew both her sister and her roommate would probably appreciate the grease and the salt this morning, so she'd gritted her teeth in the name of affection. 

She grinned as Nicole grunted, stirring slightly at the sound of the tray clattering, before burying her face further into the mattress, her arms twisted up underneath the pillows and the blankets pulled into a cocoon that she had definitely not been in when Waverly had gotten up to shower and get dressed for work an hour ago.

She sat herself on the edge of the bed, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on the back of the redhead’s neck, giggling at the sleepy hum of approval she got in response. 

“Morning, baby," she murmured, her words vibrating against Nicole’s skin.

“Munnnf s’at?” 

Nicole wriggled, groggily pulling at the blanket in an effort to untwist and turn herself around. 

“Were those words?” Waverly grinned. 

Nicole groaned as she finally managed to flop herself onto her back, her cheek red with pillow print, and her eyes heavily glazed with sleep. She propped herself up against the headboard with a low grunt, a slow grin spreading across her face as she focused her eyes on the brunette.

“How is it fair that you’re even _more_ beautiful when I’m dying?” Nicole's words were hoarse, every last shot of alcohol clear in the grate of her voice.

Waverly giggled, a blush heating the tips of her ears at the redhead’s comment. She rolled her eyes fondly, shuffling herself further onto the bed to close the gap between them.

“Charming, even when you’re being a giant baby.” 

“Asshole. I think this is a genuine medical emergency.” Nicole groaned, reaching her arms around Waverly’s waist to pull her closer and burying her face into the brunette’s neck. “Ugh, why’s it _so_ early?”

“Because it’s Monday and I have to work!”

_"No."_

Nicole whimpered, low and pathetic into the crook of Waverly's neck. Strong arms tightened around the brunette's waist, unwilling to let her leave, and Waverly chuckled, turning her head to lay a kiss on Nicole’s head. 

“I brought you breakfast." She eased herself back, encouraging Nicole’s eyes back to her own. "Hangover cure.”

The change was instantaneous. Nicole’s eyes widened and she visibly perked, shuffling herself further up the headboard as she whipped her head to the bedside table, groaning in delight as she spotted the bacon.

“Oh my _god_ , you’re amazing. Can I keep you?” 

Waverly smirked, quirking an eyebrow. Nicole blushed immediately, her eyes flicking closed and the corners of her lips tugging into a shy smile at the implications of her own words. She cleared her throat. 

“What did I do to deserve this?” She opened her eyes. 

Waverly grinned, her stomach still somersaulting at the hint of the words that the redhead had spoken the night before.

_I’m her girlfriend, but I dunno if she’s gonna be my girlfriend._

As if there was _any_ question.

“I just wanted to look after you.” She leaned forward, shuffling herself so that she was sat over Nicole’s lap, the redhead’s hands finding home instinctively on the side of her thighs. She winked, her grin deliberately teasing. “After all, you _are_ my girlfriend.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, misting into the biggest puppy dog eyes Waverly had ever seen. The tips of her ears flushed pink, and she let out a coy chuckle as the words and the memories attached to them seemed to register. She nodded softly, a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

“The real question though, Waverly Earp, is are _you_ gonna be _my_ girlfriend?”

Waverly giggled. She’d been a little worried Nicole might not remember her drunken words, but the tease in her voice and the deliberate phrasing was instantly reassuring. She wrapped her arms around the redhead’s neck.

“Yeah, I think I will.” She grinned. “I was thinking of starting now, if that’s okay?”

Nicole’s dimples popped in full force, her hands wrapping around Waverly’s waist, pulling her in tighter as she kissed her softly.

“I am _so_ sorry that I didn’t ask you that in a _much_ more romantic way.” Nicole frowned as she pulled back, resting her forehead against Waverly’s. “I tried so hard to make sure I did things right by you and then _that_ was how I brought this up.” 

Waverly shook her head, her grin widening at the adorable, hopeless look on the redhead’s face. She kissed her again, those lips just too damn irresistible.

“Haught, even twelve shots to the wind, you’re still far cuter and way more romantic than anyone I’ve ever known.” 

“Well, obviously.” Nicole grinned cheekily, chuckling as Waverly swatted her chest. “But still, there should at least have been dinner. Maybe some flowers.” She shrugged. “I just don’t like the idea of you thinking I’m saying things because I’m sambuca soaked, and not because I really feel them.”

Waverly leaned in to kiss her once more, a little longer and a little less chaste. She traced a finger over the crease of that fucking _divine_ dimple.

“Nic, I trust you.” Waverly kissed her again. She wasn’t sure she could ever stop. “And I’ve been yours since the day you whipped these dimples out on my doorstep, I don’t need a candlelit risotto and a sunflower bouquet to make that official.”

Nicole chased Waverly’s lips this time, each kiss growing more and more heated.

“Sunflowers?” Nicole grinned, her eyebrow raised in question.

“Mmhmm.” Waverly nodded, biting her lip to hold back her beaming smile.

“Noted.”

Waverly didn’t hold back this time, claiming Nicole’s lips in a kiss that was _just_ dirtier than it really needed to be, her tongue not waiting to be granted entry as it pushed past the redhead’s lips. She rolled her hips, her need to be close to her girlfriend suddenly overwhelming. Nicole groaned, the grind of her hips beneath Waverly’s betraying her own arousal. Her hands slid beneath the hem of the brunette’s shirt, her nails running over the small of her back pulling her closer. Waverly broke away, her eyes closed and her breath falling heavy. 

_“Okay,_ ” she groaned, biting her lip and clenching her fist to keep her own hands from wandering. “I have to go to work now, or I’m never leaving.” 

"If I say I'm sad you're leaving me this way, does that make me needy?" Nicole pouted.

"Yes," Waverly grinned, extracting herself from the redhead's arms with significantly more resolve than she’d known she was capable of, _especially_ given the power of that goddamn pout.

Nicole groaned, throwing her head back against the headboard as Waverly clambered from the bed, straightening her clothes out and adjusting her hair in the mirror. Nicole reached for the coffee flask, taking a sip as she watched the brunette quietly for a moment.

"Waverly…”

“Yes, baby?”

“I'm sad you're leaving me this way." 

Waverly chuckled as she turned back to face her girlfriend, shaking her head fondly at the redhead’s helplessly woeful state.

"Hangover days are for _cuddles_ and _sex_ ," Nicole whined, pushing the flask back onto the table and throwing the blankets over her head as she sank back down into the bed.

“Oh, _really_?” Waverly grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

Nicole lowered the sheets just enough for her eyes to show above them, and Waverly laughed openly at the pathetic nod she could just about make out. 

Why was this entire scenario _so_ endearing?

Why did she _want_ this idiot so badly right now?

Hangover days were for sex and cuddles, were they? She smirked. What was ten minutes late to the office, really?

She stepped forward, holding Nicole’s rueful eyes as she lifted the end of the blanket, her stomach heating as they widened just as she slipped beneath the sheets.

“Wh _..._ Wave, what are you…”

Waverly was making no pretences. She trailed her palms over Nicole’s bare thighs as she made her way towards her goal, her own arousal pooling in her centre at the tremble in the redhead’s muscles and the soft gasp of surprise that sounded above the sheets. Nicole’s hands fumbled with the blankets, reaching for her blindly.

“Wave, baby, what…”

Waverly slipped the leg of Nicole’s boxers aside, wasting no time before swiping her tongue over her girlfriend’s clit.

 _“Fuck,”_ Nicole groaned loudly, her muscles tensing under the brunette’s hands. “Waves, you don’t have to do… _oh my god.”_

Waverly couldn’t fight the smug grin that tugged at her lips as Nicole’s hand surrendered its efforts to pull back the blankets, and flew to the back of her head, her hips bucking in pleasure as the brunette circled the flat of her tongue over her clit. Her sputtered protests died in a guttural groan as Waverly sucked her clit into her mouth, flicking the tip of her tongue over the rapidly hardening bundle of nerves. The grunts and groans that tumbled from Nicole’s lips were hoarser than ever on her hangover, and there was something about the low register of the sounds, and the fact that Waverly couldn’t see the redhead’s face, and the fact that she was still fully clothed in her office wear that all just felt sublimely dirty to the brunette, and she couldn’t deny that she was loving every second of it.

She slipped her tongue down, pushing it deep into Nicole’s entrance and curling it back. She moaned, dragging her lip insistently over her girlfriend’s clit as she fucked her with her tongue, her hands guiding the grind of the redhead’s hips against her. 

_“Oh shit,_ Waverly, I’m gonna come.” Nicole’s thighs trembled, tightening around Waverly’s ears, her hips jumping as the brunette pinned them down. “Oh, _fuck._ ”

Waverly slowed the movements of her tongue, humming contentedly into Nicole’s pulsing flesh as she brought her girlfriend down from her high. She grinned, completely unable to shed the smug self-satisfaction as she extracted herself from the sheets, climbing up to plant a lingering kiss on her girlfriend’s trembling lips.

Nicole was shaking, her glazed, pleasure-drunk eyes still wide with shock as she clutched at Waverly’s waist. 

“What was _that_ for?”

“Hmmmm,” Waverly grinned. “I had it on pretty good authority that it was what my hungover girlfriend needed."

Nicole blinked, her chest heaving, her face flushed and her jaw parted, her wide eyes more than a little bewildered. Waverly chuckled, pulling the redhead into a brief cuddle.

"But now I really have to go.” She groaned, pushing Nicole’s hands back and tucking her back into the blanket. “Continue your cuddles with Wynonna, she’s still in my room."

Nicole screwed her face in disgust.

"Did you limit your oxygen supply down there?"

Waverly smirked.

"Seven weeks ago you were _more_ than happy to cuddle a friend you'd just met."

"And in hindsight you don't think that might have been a little different?" Nicole grinned.

"Chill and play video games with Wynonna. But no more parkour." Waverly straightened her clothes and her hair for the second time, giving her girlfriend one last heated kiss before rushing to the door. "You have work tonight, you have actual flames to negotiate."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

_"They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether …"_

Waverly sang happily to herself as she pushed her way into the house, somehow balancing three large bags and a cardboard box the size of her torso, filled to the brim with her new Halloween decorations.

She was pretty damn proud of her purchases. Her theme blew every other halloween she had ever hosted _straight_ out of the water, and she knew it.

She rolled her eyes, her singing trailing into an amused sigh as she heard the unmistakable bickering of her girlfriend and her sister floating down the hallway. She dropped her bags and the excessive box onto the floor by the door, grabbing a couple of essential items before skipping into the kitchen. 

Nicole’s face broke into an instant dimpled grin, and she dropped the pumpkin bunting she was holding to pull Waverly in for a lingering kiss.

Wynonna cleared her throat, and Nicole flipped her off, deepening the kiss for a brief moment before breaking away with a smug grin. 

Wynonna scowled.

"Waverly, please tell your girlfriend that it is _not_ Halloween unless it looks like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in here?” Wynonna demanded, waving a _very_ questionable looking plastic knife and a bag of fake blood in each hand.

“And please tell your _sister,"_ Nicole retorted, raising an eyebrow, "that we are _not_ filling the bath with ketchup and making a dead body out of potato sacks.”

"Wynonna, we are not filling the bath with ketchup."

"Thank you!" Nicole grinned smugly as Wynonna huffed, throwing the knife onto the table.

“We are filling it with rust water and rubber ducks.”

Wynonna’s eyebrows shot up, while Nicole’s shot down into a confused frown. Waverly grinned. 

“We are…” Waverly pulled her hands from behind her back with a flourish, revealing a whip and a clown wig. 

She paused for dramatic effect.

“Making a really niche low budget porno?” Wynonna quirked an eyebrow, chuckling as Nicole’s eyes widened in horror.

Waverly beamed. This was _golden._ She had never had an idea as good as this one.

“We're hosting a _creepy circus!”_

She was met with silence. 

And blank faces, both still eyeing the whip warily.

She sighed, slamming the whip down onto the table, rolling her eyes as both Wynonna and Nicole's eyes tracked it. 

“Picture it!" She sang, spreading her hands above her head as if mimicking a sign. "Welcome to the Carnival of _Screams_."

“The Circus of the Damned.” Wynonna nodded, her lips curling slightly as she considered the idea.

“The Carn _evil_ of _Lost Souls._ ” Nicole dropped her voice, her eyes flickering, a deliberately sinister smirk twisting across her lips.

Waverly's stomach twinged. 

_Why?_

Why, in the name of Kim Kardashian's third ass lift, was _that_ sexy? 

She was really starting to think Nicole could speak only in Chewbacca impersonations and Waverly's blood would still burn at her every word.

She grinned, slipping her fingers through her girlfriend’s belt loops and pulling her in close, the redhead’s smirk sending a jolt of arousal to her core.

“Hate to say it, but I fucking love it.” Wynonna slammed her hand on the kitchen counter. “How we gonna make it feel like a carnival?”

Waverly _definitely_ wasn’t listening. 

Nicole’s lips were brushing against her own and her hands were sliding perilously over her ass, and Waverly was focusing all of her energy on not shedding her girlfriend’s clothes in the middle of the kitchen. 

“Yo, PDA!” Wynonna threw a piece of candy at them. “Focus!”

Nicole chuckled as she broke away, grabbing the bowl of candy from Wynonna and throwing one into the air, catching it effortlessly into her mouth and winking smugly at the older Earp. 

Waverly folded her arms, giving Nicole her best scolding look.

The redhead smirked, grabbing a handful of the candy and shoving it unceremoniously into her face.

“Nicole Haught!" Waverly reprimanded, biting back her amusement. "Those are for the trick or treaters.”

Nicole grinned, holding her hands up in mock defense, a muffled apology sounding through her ridiculous mouthful.

"If you want something _sweet_ ," Waverly wriggled her eyebrows, pulling on the hem of Nicole’s shirt as the redhead swallowed back the stolen treats. "Then I've got so…"

 _"Dude_ I am _still_ here!" Wynonna barked, throwing a tube of fake blood.

“Maybe don’t be.” Nicole grinned, biting down on Waverly’s earlobe.

Wynonna huffed.

“I will murder you in your sleep.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

“Haught, stop perving over my sister.” Wynonna screwed her face in disgust. 

“No.”

Waverly laughed as she turned away from the punch she was stirring to look at her girlfriend, whose dark eyes were staring unabashed at the skintight, predominantly sheer leotard of the brunette’s aerialist costume, her knuckles white as she gripped her own cane prop.

“Come make a disgusting punch concoction with me,” Wynonna practically whined, clicking her fingers in front of Nicole’s transfixed eyes.

“The last time I trusted you around alcohol, I threw myself face first into a brick wall," Nicole retorted, her gaze still following Waverly, her cheeks a little flushed and her pupils blown wide. 

Waverly smirked, pushing her ass out a little further as she turned back to the punch. 

“You’ve _changed."_ Wynonna scoffed. "Ever since you met my sister...”

“You didn’t _know_ me _before_ I met your sister.”

“ _Ever. Since_. You met my sister, we never have _Wynaught_ time anymore."

“We have _never_ had…" Nicole finally snapped her gaze away from Waverly’s leotard clad ass, and screwed her face up in Wynonna’s direction. " _What_ the fuck is a Wynaught?”

_"How dare you!"_

Waverly intervened. This was starting to become a regularity.

“Wy, go and put your costume on." Waverly picked the outfit up from the kitchen island, pushing it into her sister’s hands. "The guests will start arriving any minute.”

Wynonna scowled as she took the costume, holding it gingerly away from her body.

“I cannot _believe_ you’re making me wear this shit.” She grimaced as she held the bright red clown wig up in one hand. “ _How_ am I not the ringmaster?”

“Because I live here and you don’t.” Nicole smirked, throwing the clown nose at the glowering brunette.

Waverly grinned, her lower belly tingling as she let her eyes drop over Nicole’s body. The black velvet pants were skintight, hugging the redhead’s ass and those _thighs_ in a way that left Waverly’s mouth watering. The gothic collar and the swirling black detail in the deep red tailcoat, and the brassy buttons of the matching black waistcoat emphasised Nicole’s curves and her muscular shoulders, and the black top hat complimented her hair in a way that sent butterflies surging through Waverly’s stomach. 

Nicole looked oddly powerful. Mysterious, authoritative, enchanting. 

And the cocky way she held that _fucking_ cane sent a shiver down Waverly's spine.

And the _bowtie..._

She swallowed thickly. 

“And frankly, Wy, because the ringmaster outfit is doing _disgusting_ things to me and it would be wasted on you.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow, a cocky smirk curling her lips. She stepped forward, effortlessly flipping the cane behind Waverly’s waist, catching the end in her other hand and pulling the brunette flush against her front. Waverly gasped, biting back a whimper.

“Jesus, _okay_." Wynonna gagged. "I’ll go put my fucking clown costume on.”

Waverly pulled Nicole into a heated kiss, the thin material of her leotard allowing her to feel every press of the redhead’s body against her own.

“Do we _have_ to have people over this evening?” Nicole murmured, her breath hitting Waverly’s lips. “I don’t know if I can resist you all night in this.”

The doorbell saved them really. Waverly was half a second away from performing a rather spectacular aerialist routine on the ringmaster's face.

Jeremy was dressed as a mime.

As such, he refused to speak. 

Nicole offered him a drink, and watched in quiet amusement as he spent several minutes trying to mime his preference, until Robin, dressed as a strongman, hoisted him over his shoulder and carried him into the kitchen. 

Close behind them was Chrissy, dressed beautifully as a tarot reader, her date Perry in tow dressed as a lion.

Waverly loved Halloween. She loved to see the effort that people put into their decorations, and their costumes; loved to see the creativity and the wit, and the reduced inhibitions that people seemed to have when they were dressed as someone else. She grinned as she watched Nicole welcome a group of firefighter colleagues, playing up her part as she bowed, tipping her hat with the ball of her cane.

Waverly _loved_ Halloween. 

But how soon was too soon to pack this shit in and get her _abhorrently_ sexy girlfriend alone in that _damn_ bowtie?

They had decked the house out like a carnival. There was a ticket booth by the door, a tin can alley in the kitchen, a hook-a-duck in the bathtub, and a balloon pop in the living room.

Waverly was currently pinning a line of string across the archway between the kitchen and the living room, several donuts swinging down from it. The race to eat the hanging treats without your hands had been one of Waverly’s favourite party games since she was child, but frankly this year it had been a challenge to get the donuts through the day with Wynonna around, and she was glad she had hidden an extra box in Nicole’s room.

Robin, Chrissy, Nicole, Rosita and Wynonna were lined up to race, each stood with their hands behind their backs in front of their respective donuts. Waverly and Jeremy were officiating.

Bluntly, it was repulsive.

Crumbs, icing, sugar, and tongues everywhere.

Nicole won by a complete landslide. Waverly tried not to feel _too_ proud. It was embarrassing, really, the way it made her stomach flip. The redhead raised her cane over her head triumphantly, still chewing her last mouthful as she gyrated her hips in front of Wynonna in a way that was probably supposed to be a smug celebration, but honestly it was all Waverly could do not to push her sister aside and drop to her knees.

Wynonna grabbed the last of her donut and squashed it straight into Nicole’s face, smearing the icing over her lips and her cheek.

Waverly shook her head, grinning as the redhead scowled, wiping at her face with her fingers. _Was_ it acceptable to lick it off?

Nicole won her own back in the hook-a-duck. Just as Wynonna leaned over the bath with her tiny fishing hook, Nicole projectiled a fucking pumpkin straight into the tub, sending a tidal wave of the paint-mixed water flying into the brunette’s face. Wynonna sputtered, reaching blindly for a towel, and wiped her face on Nicole’s bathrobe hanging on the back of the door, her clown make-up smearing ungracefully over the baby blue material. Nicole groaned.

The balloon pop was no better. Wynonna and Rosita officiated, and put a very specific amount of effort into spinning a blindfolded Jeremy around until he stumbled, dizzily, _directly_ at Nicole’s face with his dart held outwards. 

Waverly intervened. 

As always.

If she was honest, she was running out of patience with this war. The night seemed to be going on _forever._ She was enjoying herself with her friends, she _was._

But the way Nicole’s eyes darkened every time they roamed her skin tight outfit was getting too much to bear. And that _damn_ costume was just…

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"Oh god, baby, _please."_

Waverly arched her back, pushing her hips up into Nicole’s as the redhead pinned her against the kitchen table, the cane pressed over the brunette’s wrists holding them above her head. The firefighter’s searing mouth roamed Waverly’s leotard clad body, the heat raising goosebumps over her skin through the thin fabric, moans falling thick into the air between them. 

Nicole’s jacket, waistcoat and shirt hung open, the slight sheen of sweat visible on her exposed torso. The top hat still sat on her head, and the bowtie was still hanging, albeit looser, around her neck. Waverly had never seen anything sexier, and she didn't even have the faculties to question that _ridiculous_ fact. 

She groaned, desperate heat overwhelming her body as Nicole abandoned the cane, her fingers searching for a way into the tight bodysuit keeping Waverly’s skin from her own.

Waverly couldn’t have cared less. She had wanted her girlfriend inside her _all_ night, and a gimmicky costume was _not_ going to be the reason she had to wait even longer.

“Just rip it, baby,” she moaned. "Please, I _need_ you."

Nicole growled, low and almost animalistic, sending a jolt of arousal straight through Waverly’s core. She claimed the brunette’s lips in a deep, passionate kiss as her hands pressed over the inside of her thighs, her fingertips grasping at the seam of the material between Waverly’s legs. 

Waverly practically sobbed at the sound of the flimsy material tearing, and the cool air hitting her unbearably heated flesh. She cried out as Nicole swiftly pushed her tiny thong aside and sank effortlessly into her, holding her fingers firmly against _that_ spot on the front wall for a blistering moment before beginning her thrusts.

Waverly’s moans were unbridled, her relief palpable at finally being wrapped around her girlfriend after hours of teasing touches and unsavoury fantasies. 

And her fingers felt _so_ _fucking good._

Nicole pulled hard with the fingers buried inside her, the movement serving to tug the brunette to the edge of the table, and to release a guttural cry of pleasure from her lips at the pressure on her clenching core. Waverly's head swam, her mind unable to keep up with the intensity of her pleasure as Nicole began to throw her hips behind her thrusts, her pace slow but relentlessly hard.

"Fuck, Nic…" Waverly breathed, reaching forward in a frantic effort to grip hold of any part of her girlfriend she could reach. She whimpered, flailing slightly as she failed to find purchase in the position, the burn of the redhead’s fingers stripping her of the words she needed to articulate what she wanted. _"Nicole_ , baby…"

Nicole seemed to understand. She reached her free hand forward, fisting it into the material at the front of Waverly’s bodysuit. Tears of pleasure and over-heightened arousal prickled in Waverly’s eyes as she found herself lifted effortlessly in true firefighter Nicole Haught fashion. The redhead’s fist stayed bunched in the front of the leotard, suspending Waverly in an almost sitting position, allowing her to reach to grasp at Nicole’s shoulders, but still leaving her completely at her girlfriend’s mercy.

_Jesus fucking Christ._

Everything about it was driving Waverly crazy. The _roughness_ , the fire in mocha eyes, the way Nicole’s tongue pressed into the corners of her parted lips in concentration, the dishevelled ringmaster costume that had done inexplicable things to Waverly’s libido all night… she was engulfed in flame and only Nicole’s driving fingers had any hope of putting it out.

She needed more. She needed _deeper._ She pushed Nicole back, her chest swelling as the redhead immediately halted her movement, releasing Waverly gently, soft concern instantly replacing the lust-crazed fire in her eyes.

"It's okay, baby, I just want…"

Waverly trailed off as she slid from the edge of the table, turning herself around in Nicole’s embrace. She leaned forward, placing her palms on the surface as she spread her thighs, pushing her ass back into Nicole’s hips in encouragement.

Nicole groaned; long and low and gravelly, and the sound caused a fresh wave of arousal to burn through Waverly’s bloodstream. The firefighter wasted no time. She slipped one arm under Waverly’s, bringing her hand to the base of the brunette’s throat. Her forearm lay over Waverly’s sternum, between her breasts, holding her suspended once more. The fingers of her other hand sank immediately back into Waverly, resuming her hard thrusts, a little faster this time, and deep enough to make the brunette’s knees tremble.

The position left Nicole’s lips dangerously close to Waverly’s ear, and every grunt, every groan, and every murmured word of filthy praise brought the brunette closer and closer to the edge.

“Touch your clit, baby,” Nicole murmured, her lips caressing the shell of Waverly’s ear. “Make yourself feel good.”

“Ugh, _you_ are making me feel good.” Waverly could barely form a coherent thought, her body aching for release and the redhead’s words the most delicious form of torture.

Nicole chuckled, low and breathy.

“I know you need it, baby,” she murmured, her thrusts quickening despite the slow burr of her voice. “Make yourself come for me.”

The truth was Waverly was not _at all_ sure she did need it. Nicole’s touch and her words and her heady presence were driving the brunette higher and higher by the second, and her whole body was burning with excruciating pleasure. But she did know that if she touched her pulsing clit, her orgasm would be _earth shattering._

She was all too aware that the moment she swiped her fingers across her clit, that would be it, and she would fall, crashing headlong into Nicole in an explosive orgasm. So selfishly, she let her girlfriend pull her apart for just a moment longer, tearing every last drop of her sanity from her before she finally slipped her fingers between her own legs.

Nicole's groans intensified as soon as Waverly made her first contact, her hot breaths hitting the brunette’s ear erupting goosebumps over her neck and her chest. Nicole changed the angle of her thrusts; sharper, more precise, and the new drive had her nudging over and over again into the spot that made the brunette see stars. Waverly gripped the arm that held her up, her whole body shaking as she clenched hard around Nicole’s fingers, her orgasm rendering her silent as it wracked her every muscle. 

She collapsed forward against Nicole’s forearm, the redhead easing her down gently, laying soft kisses over her spine as she slowly withdrew her fingers. 

Waverly was not even _nearly_ done with her girlfriend. 

She turned, one hand gripping the bowtie around Nicole’s neck as she pulled her into a messy kiss, the other fumbling with the button and the zipper of the black velvet pants. She pushed them down along with the redhead’s soaked underwear, Nicole moaning into the kiss as she kicked and stumbled her way out of them. Waverly gripped the bowtie, holding Nicole close to her as she sank down onto one of the wooden dining chairs, dragging the redhead over her and into her lap. She pushed her fingers immediately into Nicole, earning a desperate whimper as the redhead gripped the back of the chair, rolling her hips into her girlfriend’s touch.

Nicole chuckled, her words broken with her moans as Waverly tugged on the bowtie, fighting to keep her girlfriend's lips against her own.

“We should _definitely_ dress up more.”

  
  



	10. You'll Be A Natural

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having the most fun writing this fic, so thank you so much for reading and commenting and sharing and all the wonderful things!!
> 
> Also I know it’s October, but just embrace the alternate timeline for a few minutes while you read this chapter, 'k? 😉
> 
> Happy Sunday!

Waverly flicked the switch on the wall, grunting as she hauled herself out from under the seven foot Christmas tree that she had insisted on at the farm. Now that she stood looking at it in the corner of their living room, she had to admit that perhaps Nicole had been right. Perhaps a five foot would have sufficed and a six foot would have been _more_ than enough. She'd never tell her girlfriend that, though. She was an Earp. Stubborn was in her veins.

Despite being unnecessarily large, the tree was perfect. Just green enough, just bushy enough, and Waverly patted herself on the back for the flawless distribution of little white fairy lights flickering away across the branches. 

She could hear the occasional thuds and the more frequent curses sounding through the ceiling, as Nicole moved about on the roof putting up the outside lights. She didn't want to dress the tree without her girlfriend, so she busied herself sorting the ornaments into colour coded piles, singing and dancing along to the Christmas Classics playlist that blasted from her speakers.

If Waverly Earp loved Halloween, then she really _adored_ Christmas. The whole house had been kitted out; garlands in the hallway and around the fireplace, lights and a small tree in the bedrooms, mistletoe in the archway between the kitchen and the living room. Because… any excuse to coax her sexy roommate into a little kiss.

Waverly jumped to her feet, her body moving in time with the music as she sang along loudly to her all time _favourite_ classic. She squealed, giggling as unexpected arms wrapped around her waist, spinning her round and pulling her into a _very_ clumsy two step. She grinned, pulling Nicole into a kiss.

“Ready to dress our first Christmas tree?” Nicole beamed, planting a kiss on Waverly’s nose, before pulling away to remove her jacket, draping it over the back of the couch.

“Yes!” Waverly beamed, practically jumping on the spot in her excitement. "But first, I uh… I got you a little pre-Christmas gift." 

Waverly held her hand out, gesturing for Nicole to wait as she reached behind the tree, pulling out a small, unwrapped wooden box. She watched nervously as Nicole pulled the lid open, mocha eyes sparkling as they landed on the contents. Nicole grinned, her dimples deep as she pulled the gift out and twirled it around. The glass bauble encased a double sided photograph of the two of them together; Waverly beaming as Nicole kissed her cheek, and it glinted in the fairy lights as the firefighter turned it over in her hands.

“I know it’s cheesy but," Waverly shrugged, a light blush tinting her cheeks as she watched Nicole study the globe. "Isn’t that kinda what Christmas is about?”

“It’s perfect! Thank you baby." Nicole pulled her in, kissing her softly. "Can I hang it now?”

“Long as it’s in pride of place!" Waverly grinned, biting her lip to hold back her giddy smile as she watched Nicole carefully hang the bauble in the centre of the undressed tree. 

It took them hours. Every time they picked up an ornament, they would get distracted with singing and dancing or stolen kisses and cheeky touches. It was glorious. Waverly had adored Christmas before Nicole Haught, but she didn't have words for how she felt sharing these things with her. As they finally finished, and stood back to look at their work, Nicole grabbed her jacket from the couch, pulling something shyly from the pocket.

"I actually have a gift for you too." Nicole smiled softly, nerves shaking in her voice and her gaze. "I know the twelfth of December is a _little_ early, but…"

Waverly’s heart hammered as she took the small, flat, perfectly wrapped package from Nicole’s hands. Why did her girlfriend seem so nervous? It was making her own blood pound. Her fingers shook slightly as she pulled the shimmery paper open, her brows furrowing as she pulled out a rectangular piece of cardboard, Nicole’s handwriting neatly scribed across the face.

 _Come away with me?_ _  
__The bags are packed and ready to go._ _  
__Bring your cute hat._ _  
__N x_

"Nic, what…" 

"I’m uh… I booked us a trip. To-to go skiing." Nicole blushed, her words rushed in her nerves. "I-I thought it might be nice to get away and it… it might feel Christmassy."

"Oh my _god_ , are you _serious?"_ Waverly’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening in disbelief as they flicked between the message in her hands and her girlfriend’s bashful face. "You booked me a trip?"

Nicole nodded with a shy smile, her hand rubbing at the back of her neck in her telltale nervous manner.

Waverly kissed her. She couldn’t help it.

"This is _incredible."_ She kissed her again, deeper this time, unable to find the words to express her excitement or her gratitude. " _You_ are incredible, _god_ , Nicole! Thank you! I have to sort things with work, but…"

Nicole's gaze dropped to the floor, everything about her growing sheepish as she rubbed more urgently at the back of her neck. 

"I… I've already sorted it." She shrugged, her eyes wide and somehow almost apologetic as she forced them back to Waverly’s. "Jeremy and Chrissy helped, we uh… we leave tomorrow."

Waverly stilled. She honestly didn't have the words. Her stomach was in overdrive, and she couldn’t work out whether she wanted to scream with excitement, cry over how adorable her girlfriend was, or drop to her knees and express her gratitude in a plethora of frighteningly ungodly ways.

"Are-are you mad?" Nicole stuttered, fear flashing through her eyes as she tugged nervously at her collar. "Is that really controlling? I'm sorry, I just wanted to surprise you and I thought..."

Waverly couldn’t take it. She flew across the tiny gap that separated them, claiming Nicole’s lips in a heated, passionate kiss. The redhead’s arms wrapped instinctively around her waist but she stumbled backwards, her knees hitting the couch and sending them tumbling onto the cushions. Waverly wrapped herself around her girlfriend’s body, the kiss only growing more passionate as she thought about the idea of a trip to the snowy mountains with her favourite person, and the fact that Nicole had gone to so much effort to surprise her with it. The gesture was by far and away the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her, and she was completely elated.

"God, _how_ did I get this lucky?" Waverly breathed. 

Nicole beamed, her eyes misting with something that they had been filling with a lot lately, when they'd looked into Waverly’s.

Waverly's chest swelled so hard it almost hurt. She knew there were things she needed to say to Nicole; things her girlfriend needed to know about the way that she felt about her, but the words had hung on her lips for a while now, never falling for the fear that they might somehow burst the bubble that she had been living in since the night Nicole had kissed her for the first time. She swallowed thickly, forcing her mind away from her feelings, and to focus on the incredible gift her girlfriend had just given her.

"I've never skied before!" Waverly squealed, bouncing in the redhead’s lap. "Nicole, I'm _so_ excited!"

"Neither have I, but I booked us lessons." Nicole grinned, tugging Waverly's waist to pull her back down against her. "I have _every_ faith you will be a natural."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly Earp was not a natural.

They’d been on the tiny training slope for two hours, and Waverly had spent approximately one hour and forty six minutes of it on her ass. Thankfully Nicole had booked them a set of _private_ beginner’s lessons, and their instructor seemed to have the patience of a goddamn saint, but it was still not Waverly’s most comfortable experience.

The idea of a skiing trip had seemed so romantic. A cosy wooden lodge high in the mountains, cuddles by a fireplace with hot cocoa, selfies on the slopes with Nicole looking adorable with flushed cheeks and padded ski wear... 

She’d neglected really to think about the amount of time she would spend trying her utmost best not to tear down trees and other people with her face. There was just something about hurtling rapidly down a hill with very minimal control, at very great physical risk that wasn’t _quite_ settling right in Waverly’s bones, and she was already _really_ missing not having giant sticks for feet. Explicitly, giant sticks that were very specifically designed to glide easily over snow, even when she _didn’t_ particularly want them to.

Like now. 

She was _trying_ to listen to the ski instructor explain how to round corners, but her skis were hellbent on taking her backwards down the very slight beginners slope. There was no point flailing. She’d learned this the hard way fifteen minutes ago when she’d inadvertently taken the slope at an alarming speed ass first, dragging Nicole down with her. 

She threw herself sideways into the snow with an ungraceful squeal and a grunt. It was the safest thing for everyone, and at least this way she _might_ stay at the top of the hill long enough to hear at least one complete instruction.

Nicole wasn’t faring a huge amount better. Although, Waverly would admit, her girlfriend really did _look_ the part. Or at least she did when she wasn’t moving.

For all her bravado in the element of fire, Nicole Haught was definitely lacking in the blatant disregard for personal safety or the dangers of gravity that seemed to be required for this sport. Waverly had never seen her girlfriend concentrate so hard on _anything_ , and she was starting to worry that the redhead might have a permanent cramp to her jaw from this trip forth. Whilst Waverly was having trouble getting her unintentional speed under control, Nicole seemed to be having some problems at the opposite end of the spectrum. The redhead had barely picked up a mile an hour speed on any of their short runs, and the instructor had gotten a little impatient at the twenty minutes it had taken her to painstakingly snow plough her way down the 170m training slope for the third time in the session.

Waverly was cold, wet, her face had ice burn, and her legs ached from the awkwardly tense angle she had held herself in all morning.

She had never had more fun, and she was finding the entire thing hilarious. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard.

The ski instructor, who had introduced himself only as Fish, clapped his hands together as he finished his instruction. He grinned, a knowing, cheeky grin that Waverly couldn’t help but find endearing. He had been easy going all session, and he had lightly teased them both in the informal kind of way that one might expect from a friend, and Waverly was very grateful for the relaxed attitude that it had allowed them to take in this otherwise incredibly stressful, life threatening experience.

“Okay, we’re going to do one more run down this slope, and I’m going to assess you for your skill level." Fish chuckled as both Waverly and Nicole groaned. "Then we’ll take a lunch break, and this afternoon we’ll try on a beginner’s mountain run. We will do this assessment again at the end of the day, and at the end of each of our three sessions. You need to pass above a level two to be allowed out onto the slopes on your own.”

Waverly giggled as Nicole’s face paled. They had _no_ chance.

“I’m going to head down to the bottom, and when I raise my flag, Waverly I want you to plummet uncontrollably down first.” Fish grinned. “Then we can grab a coffee while Nicole navigates the first hundred metres and be back in time for the finish line.” He winked. 

_"Wow."_ Nicole scoffed, the grin tugging at her lips betraying her amusement. "I didn’t realise I paid you to _mock_ me!"

They waited as Fish zipped effortlessly down the slope in no more than ten seconds, spraying snow into the air as he skidded to a skilled halt at the bottom.

“Show off,” Nicole grumbled, biting back her grin.

Waverly fisted her thick gloved hand into the front of Nicole's padded jacket, pulling her in for a kiss. She broke away with a gasp and a squeal as she felt herself start to slide backwards, Nicole’s eyes widening as she grabbed at her waist to stall her. The effort was successful in halting Waverly’s unwanted trip down the slope, but the direct consequence was the brunette on her ass on the ends of Nicole’s skis, and the redhead promptly falling over the top of her.

Waverly giggled. She had pretty much giggled non-stop since they stepped foot on the snow, and Nicole’s eyes were shining more than she had ever seen them as they watched her happily. Nicole leaned in, claiming Waverly’s lips in a kiss that seared despite the bitter cold, and the brunette couldn't help but smile into it.

They giggled as they broke apart, scrambling to untangle their skis and help each other up as Fish waved his flag at them from the bottom of the slope.

“Good luck baby," Nicole smirked knowingly.

“See you in what, an hour?" Waverly winked, her grin teasing. "Miss you already, gorgeous.”

“Asshole!”

Waverly didn’t really even need to try. She edged herself around so that she was facing the right direction, and then just let her stick feet do their thing.

It might have been a mistake really. 

The speed was unbearable. Her skis were shaking, she couldn’t see through the spray of snow around her face, and she was one thousand percent certain that she had absolutely _no_ control over her feet. There was every chance she might be plummeting towards her death, but by some miracle she was facing forward, and she was _above_ her skis, and that was about as good as she could wish for at this point. 

“ _Good,_ Waverly, nice work!” 

She was vaguely aware of Fish’s voice echoing out to her as she whipped past him, but before she had even processed the praise he had turned to raise his flag for Nicole. 

She was _very_ sure that praise had been a little premature.

Waverly had absolutely _no_ idea how to stop. 

This was the first time she had made it this far on her feet, she hadn't had much choice in the matter before now. Her wobbling snow plough seemed to _not_ be slowing things down, and all it really seemed to be doing was veering her off to the right. Things were all starting to get a little bit precarious, and her visions of tearing things down with her face were starting to feel like a very feasible reality as she hurtled towards the pulley lift and the direct path of a very wide eyed man. 

_"Christ on a fucking cracker!"_

It was inevitable. 

There was nothing she could do about it. The man had no choice, he was dictated solely by the speed of the lift that pulled him. Waverly was dictated solely by the will of the planks strapped to her feet. 

All she could do was scream as she plunged straight into his chest, knocking him clean off of the lift and sending them both flying into the snow a good few hundred yards from the end of the training run.

All she could really say was _thank god_ for Nicole’s practically sedate pace, for giving her just enough time for the victim of her plunge to hoist her back onto her feet and help her to the end of the training run, good-naturedly brushing off her grovelling apologies, before her girlfriend reached the finish line. She could see the shake of the redhead’s shoulders and the way she bit down on her lip that told her that her girlfriend had seen the entire escapade, and was struggling to control her laughter for fear the wrack of her body might somehow push her into breakneck speed. She watched as Nicole came to a _very_ slow, but very steady and very neat stop a few metres from a still utterly oblivious Fish.

“Great, okay, gather round!” Fish called, shaking his head with a chuckle. “If either of you can figure out how to move your feet in the correct direction.”

Waverly shunted forwards, holding her arms out as she let the skis glide her into Nicole’s side. Nicole grunted through her giggles, wrapping her arm around Waverly’s waist to steady them. They stumbled as they tried to move forward, both shaking with laughter as they fought to hold each other up.

“Just…” Fish sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll come to you.”

Nicole was struggling to take a breath, her giggles gripping her entire body. Waverly watched as the redhead lifted her goggles to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, and she felt a warm surge of affection for her girlfriend that made her chest swell.

“Waverly, you did _so_ much better that time!" Fish waved his arms animatedly, his excitement clear in his eyes and in his tone. "Your speed was still a little high but you looked in better control, and you stayed on your feet. Nicole, we still need to do some work with you, you need to loosen up a little, you don’t need to snow plough the whole way down. Take a look at the way Waverly’s holding her legs when she skis.”

“Are you _fucking kidding_ me?” Nicole’s eyes flew wide, her jaw slackening as Waverly doubled over with her giggles, clinging to her girlfriend to keep herself upright. “I’ve gotta learn how to wipe out total strangers, is that what you’re trying to suggest?" 

Nicole laughed, her grip tightening around Waverly’s waist as they both began to slip and slide again on the packed snow.

“You two are exhausting, and I need a beer.” Fish grinned. “Grab that chair lift to the bottom left there, and get some lunch in the lodge at the top. I’ll meet you up there in two hours.”

Getting onto the chair lift was a fairly simple experience. Once they’d managed to stand themselves in front of it, the chair thudded into the back of their thighs and swept them up. Both breathed a sigh of relief as their skis left the snow for a brief while. Nicole wrapped her arm around Waverly’s shoulders, leaning in to kiss her as the carriage made its way up the mountain. Waverly’s stomach somersaulted, and she was very certain it wasn’t with the sway of the lift pod. Nicole looked so beautiful, her cheeks flushed with the sun and the cold, her nose reddened and her eyes sparkling. Waverly couldn’t help but kiss her again.

Getting _off_ of the chair lift was a fucking disaster. 

Waverly spent the last ten metres straightening out her skis and psyching herself up. Then she spent the last _two_ metres panicking and getting her skis into a twist. 

As soon as the bastard planks hit the snow, Waverly was on her ass. _Again._ Nicole giggled, holding her arms out in a graceful swan as she glided gently off of the chair. Waverly scowled. Until the very chair they’d sat in thumped Nicole in the ass and sent her flying into a heap on top of Waverly, her skis tangling with the brunette’s as they slid ungracefully into a pile by the lodge.

Nicole sighed, her shoulders dropping in surrender.

"Everything about this experience is intolerable.” She shook her head, grinning as Waverly burst out laughing. “I’m having the _best_ time."

Waverly kissed her. She was falling harder and harder with every gleeful giggle that fell from her girlfriend’s lips, and she really couldn’t help herself. 

"This is already the greatest trip of my life." She grinned, planting a soft kiss on Nicole’s cold reddened nose. "Now get me by a fire with a hot cocoa and your arms around me as quickly as possible before I throw a tantrum so hard I cause an avalanche."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly was in her heaven. Nicole had brought her to a traditional German Christmas Market, nestled in a snow covered valley down the mountain from the ski resort. The white of the looming mountainsides around them glowed under the warmth of the copious fairy lights, and a soft snow still fell around them as they wandered the stalls. The air was filled with the smells of cinnamon and roasting chestnuts, and the smokey scent of German sausages and sauerkraut. The stalls were all uniform in their wooden structure, the peaks of the roofs all lined with matching string lights, but each one was different in the goods that they offered. Delicately hand crafted tree ornaments, or thick knitted woollen scarves, or home baked gingerbread and candy canes.

Waverly’s thick mittened hand was wrapped as well as it possibly could be in Nicole’s heavy gloved one, and she leaned in as close as she could to her girlfriend as they made their way leisurely through the winter wonderland.

“ _Shit,_ look at this!” Nicole’s eyes widened in a childlike wonderment, and she gripped Waverly’s hand tighter, pulling her out into the centre of the market.

A huge Christmas tree stood tall, decorated with thousands of tiny white lights. Propped throughout the tree were small ladders and platforms with figurines hanging from them, elves in all kinds of different positions, building the platforms or hanging the lights. Surrounding the tree was an expansive miniature Christmas village. Hundreds of tiny buildings spanned around the base of the tree, their windows lit and their roofs snow covered. Frozen ponds sat by model trees, with miniature mechanic skaters twirling over the ice. Tiny lamp posts glowed over little couples walking arm in arm through the snow, and horse drawn carriages passed by waving children. A deep red train ran around the outside, puffs of real steam shooting from its engine, and everything was twinkling with lights, and tinkling with the sound of Christmas carols. There was a tiny clockwork ski slope set towards the back, with little skiers making their way down and around on an animated pull lift, and Nicole giggled as she pointed out one small figure sitting in a heap at the bottom of the hill. 

Waverly watched the village for a moment, until Nicole’s gleeful giggle pulled her attention away. She watched instead the way the fairylights danced off of her girlfriend’s hair, and sparkled in those eyes that were so warm against the crisp cold, and the way those dimples deepened as Nicole laughed. Her chest swelled. Every part of her felt warm, and content, and somehow fucking _magical._ It was pretty obvious, really.

She was in love.

She was wholly, entirely, one thousand percent, indisputably in love.

And Nicole deserved to know that. She deserved to know the way she made Waverly’s heart feel like it was too big for her chest, and the way nothing ever felt like home unless Nicole was there. She deserved to know that she was unlike anyone Waverly had ever met in all of the best ways, and that it just didn’t seem possible that anyone she could ever meet again would make her feel the same way.

“You okay, baby?” Nicole’s voice was soft, and she furrowed her brows a little as she tore her gaze from the model village to meet Waverly’s eyes.

“Yeah…”

She took a deep breath.

"I'm in love with you, Nic." 

Every sound around them seemed to fade, the hushed words the only thing that Waverly could hear as they tumbled effortlessly from her lips.

They didn't feel _enough_ , but Waverly was pretty sure that nothing would.

Nicole’s breath hitched, her eyes widening and her lips parting slightly. The silent pause was brief, but it was enough to bring the anxiety bubbling into Waverly’s stomach. The calm, serene certainty faded instantly into a nervous panic, and she stuttered as she clambered to ease the intensity of the moment.

"A-and _please_ don't feel you have to say…"

Nicole’s lips were on hers instantly. The kiss was _everything._ A kiss that was so sure, so passion-fuelled that Waverly could feel it in her cold-numb toes, and she sighed into her girlfriend’s lips as the redhead’s arms wrapped tight around her waist.

"Waverly…" Nicole’s lips curled into a smile, brushing against the brunette’s as she spoke. She claimed them again in a shorter, softer kiss, before pulling back to meet Waverly’s eyes. "As if there's _any_ question."

She beamed, and Waverly felt her heart and her stomach flip in synchronization, her entire body tingling with elation as Nicole kissed the tip of her nose.

"I am _so_ in love with you too."

  
  



	11. It's My Birthday Dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is my favourite thing to write, and I'd be loving every second of it even without the amazing feedback. So the fact that people seem to be enjoying this as much as I am is incredible, and I'm really grateful for every interaction you're giving me!
> 
> Also, in case you don't follow me on Twitter and haven't seen this there, go read Dog Days and Clichés by Artemis_17. If you like this, you'll like that. Funny, flirty, fluffy, and dogs! All the best things. Plus, the writer is a gem.
> 
> Happy Thursday! Love.

Waverly practically vibrated as she watched the numbers on the clock flicker over another restless minute. 7:59am. She’d been laying awake, staring at the little screen for two hours, waiting impatiently for a humanly acceptable time to wake her girlfriend. She was excited, she couldn’t help it, and it had been a hell of a task not to wake her at 6am, but Waverly was all too aware that _that_ wasn’t how many people wanted to start their birthday. As the numbers morphed once more, ticking into 8am, she couldn’t hold her excitement any longer. She bounced herself energetically around to face Nicole, burying herself in the redhead’s arms as her girlfriend grunted in surprise. 

_“Happy birthday to you.”_

Waverly grinned as she sang softly, placing a kiss on Nicole’s jaw as the line trailed off.

_“Happy birthday to you.”_

Waverly kissed her nose.

 _“Happy birthday to Nicole.”_

Nicole’s eyes were still closed, but Waverly could see the little twitch of her dimples that told her the redhead was awake and fighting against her amusement. She kissed the slight curl at the corner of her lips.

_“Happy birthday to you.”_

Waverly grinned, surging forward and pushing Nicole onto her back, planting a barrage of kisses over her girlfriend’s face and her neck. Nicole grumbled, trying her hardest to resist, but her tight lipped smirk broke into a grin even as the groan left them. Waverly squealed as the redhead broke, her eyes flying open and her grin breaking into a giggle as she grabbed the brunette’s waist and flipped her over, pinning her to the mattress.

“Anyone ever told you you’re ridiculous, Earp?” Nicole grinned, her voice gravelly with her sleep. She leaned her head down, trailing gentle kisses over Waverly’s jawline as the brunette giggled.

“Ridiculously in love.” Waverly sang, wrapping her legs around Nicole’s waist, pulling her close. 

“Cheeseball.” Nicole murmured, her kisses becoming hotter; open mouthed as they began to trail over Waverly’s neck. Her hands instinctively found the brunette’s sides, exploring softly as her hips began a subtle roll against her. 

Waverly shivered, heat searing instantly beneath her skin. 

_Seconds,_ that had taken.

“Baby… fuck _how_ do you do this so _quickly?”_ Waverly groaned, her back arching as she pressed herself further into Nicole’s body, her mind starting to swim under her girlfriend’s insistent touch. “Baby, I’ve... as much as I _love_ where this is going, I’ve been waiting for two hours to give you your present!”

“Can’t I just unwrap _you_ instead?” Nicole bit down on Waverly’s lower lip, pulling it back with a cheeky grin as she hoisted the brunette’s legs higher around her waist.

“Oh and _I’m_ the cheeseball?” Waverly smirked, grinding her hips up into Nicole and catching the responding moan with a kiss. “And _yes_ , obviously, but just let me get your present first!”

Nicole groaned and pouted, but she rolled onto her back with a chuckle, freeing Waverly to clamber excitedly from the bed and skip off into her own room to fish the neatly wrapped present from her underwear drawer. 

As she made her way back across the hallway, she slowed at the sound of movement over the wooden floor in Nicole’s bedroom. She crept softly over the last few feet into the doorway, biting her cheek to stifle her giggles as she watched her girlfriend. 

Nicole was dancing.

Hips gyrating, arms moving fluidly, feet shuffling, all out dancing.

Around the room, to no music.

Waverly grinned, leaning against the doorway as Nicole shuffled herself in a complete circle.

She yelped, halting immediately and stumbling backwards as her eyes landed on her girlfriend. Waverly quirked an eyebrow, _just_ holding back her giggles. Nicole blushed, biting her lip.

"I-it's my…" She grinned sheepishly, her hand flying to the back of her neck in her endearingly awkward gesture. "It's my birthday dance." 

"Your _what_?" 

"It’s how I start my birthday every year.” Nicole shrugged, her grin growing mischievous. “You are surely _not_ telling me you don't have a birthday dance?"

 _"Fuck_ , I love you so much, Haught." Waverly grinned, shaking her head as she stepped towards her ridiculous girlfriend. "No, I do not have a birthday dance."

 _"Well_ then…" Nicole wriggled her eyebrows. "You’d better get over here and learn mine."

Waverly giggled as Nicole moved towards her, grabbing her hand and pulling her in, their hips pressed together as she made a deliberate show of circling them. Nicole gyrated herself around, making the _worst_ attempt at a twerk into Waverly’s hips that the brunette had ever seen. She laughed openly, slapping Nicole’s ass as the redhead smirked, spinning around and pulling Waverly back into her arms.

Waverly kissed the stupid smirk from that stupid face, and she was pretty sure she physically _felt_ herself fall more in love.

"You _ever_ gonna open this?" Waverly raised an eyebrow, waving the present in the redhead’s face.

Nicole chuckled as Waverly pushed her back, flopping to the mattress as her knees hit the edge. Waverly sat down immediately beside her, their thighs pressed together as if any space between them was too much. She fumbled nervously for a moment with the small gift box in her hand. She suddenly felt _very_ shy, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet Nicole’s gaze.

Nicole hooked a finger under Waverly's chin, pulling her up to kiss her softly, and the gesture made the brunette’s shoulders drop. She chuckled softly, shaking her head at her own abashed state.

"Happy birthday, baby." She murmured, forcing her eyes to meet Nicole’s as she pushed the box into her hands. "I love you."

Waverly watched, her heart pounding in her throat as Nicole peeled back the wrapping, her fingers trailing gently over the rectangular velvet box that lay beneath it. Her stomach twisted, her whole body hot with nerves as her girlfriend lifted the lid, the silver pendant of the necklace glinting in the rays of the sun through the window.

Nicole was quiet for a moment, her lips parted slightly as her fingers gently traced the lines of silver twisted into the pendant. Waverly held her breath. 

“I-is this what I think it is?” Nicole’s voice was low, barely a whisper, and there was something so soft in it that it made Waverly’s stomach flip. Mocha eyes finally flicked away from the pendant, a wistful kind of awe gripping them as they searched the brunette’s. “Is this a celtic shield?”

“Yeah.” Waverly nodded shyly. “It’s a shield knot, it’s supposed to protect you from danger. I-I thought… for work…”

Nicole fell quiet again, her eyes dropping back to the pendant. She stared at it for a long moment, her eyes misting. Waverly's stomach twisted, her heart pounding as she waited. She wasn’t sure how to read the silence, and she couldn’t help but fill it. 

“I-I know it’s a little cliche. And now I’m watching you open it it feels _really_ cliche and stupid, a-and we’re not even spiritual people, and I know it’s just a necklace really, and I feel a bit sick, you don’t have to wear it…”

Nicole tore her gaze back to Waverly’s, the telltale signs of tears welling in wide eyes. She snapped the lid shut, clasping the box in her hand as she surged forward, pulling Waverly into a bear hug. 

“Waves, god I love you _so much,_ baby. This is…” Nicole pulled back, shaking her head as she searched Waverly’s face, as if somehow she would find the words she was looking for in her girlfriend’s eyes. “I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.”

Nicole beamed, blushing slightly as she wiped at her eyes. She sighed happily, gripping Waverly’s waist and pulling her effortlessly onto her lap, kissing her deeply.

“Also," Waverly grinned, pulling back as Nicole chased her lips. "We're going to the spa today."

Waverly giggled as Nicole groaned happily, flopping back onto the bed and pulling the brunette with her.

“ _Best_ birthday _ever.”_

“Already?” Waverly quirked an eyebrow. 

“I woke up with you. Of course already.”

“Charmer.” Waverly grinned. “We have to be there in three hours.”

Nicole smirked, and Waverly squealed as she flipped them over, hooking the brunette's legs over her shoulders as she rolled her hips into her girlfriend’s core.

“ _M_ _ore_ than enough time.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly was certainly not feeling relaxed. Not right now.

She had booked them a session in the spa's floatation therapy pool, and they were currently stood with four other strangers, in an awkward huddle around some spa assistant named Sandra. Sandra was painstakingly explaining the rules while a woman with a face like a squashed quiche, who had entirely unnecessarily introduced herself as Linda, asked sixteen questions about every one.

That was fine. It was annoying, there really couldn’t be _that_ many dangers to floating in some salty water, and Linda needed to go suck on a lemon, but that wasn't really the issue.

The issue was that even after more than two months of fucking Nicole Haught at every given opportunity, Waverly was still utterly decimated by the mere sight of her girlfriend in a bikini.

The khaki green material was simple, but the way the curves of her chest sat just a little higher, and the arched cut over those toned thighs was making Waverly’s mouth water. Her jaw was set tight, her fists were clenched, and she was physically fighting with her own body to prevent herself from barrelling Linda into the water and climbing Nicole on the pool's edge. Not quite the relaxation she was supposed to be feeling.

Waverly had no idea how long she'd been staring, but she was somehow conscious enough to register that the muscles of Nicole’s stomach, usually just hidden beneath the soft layer of her curves, were more prominent than usual. Flexed _far_ too much to be accidental. She blushed, flicking her eyes up to meet amused mocha beneath raised eyebrows. She blushed harder, her stomach clenching as her girlfriend winked.

 _How_ did she do this to her _so_ easily?

She shook her head, almost groaning with relief as Linda finally finished her barrage of questions, and Sandra permitted them into the pool. She slapped Nicole on the ass as her girlfriend passed, wincing as the sound echoed through the room and several faces turned their way. She scowled as Nicole spun to face her, looking at her in mock horror as she backed away slowly.

"Get in the pool, asshole." She rolled her eyes as Nicole grinned, flopping backwards into the water to the blatant outrage of a flustered Sandra. 

Now _this_ was relaxing. The water held her afloat, like silk rippling beneath her skin as it buoyed her effortlessly. The wide arch of the ceiling sparkled with tiny dots like starlight, painted on a clear night's sky. The scent of the room around them embodied everything that was nature. Something that smelled somehow like _rain,_ and the forest and the trees. She could feel the weight leave her body; tranquil. Serene. The only thing of this world she knew was the hand of the love of her life in hers, and somehow that made everything feel almost _ethereal._ Like they were the only people in the world. Even the sound of Nicole’s gentle whispers beside her echoed through the stillness like a breeze.

"This would be so much more relaxing if Linda didn’t keep caressing my feet."

Waverly laughed loudly. 

For _fucks_ sake.

Was nothing sacred with this woman?

"I am very sure she is not _caressing_ you." Waverly giggled, fighting to keep her voice and her laughter to a whisper as she turned to look at Nicole’s haunted face.

"I'm telling you. There's no other word for it." Nicole whispered, darting her eyes around to check on the woman’s current location. "A moment ago she genuinely _stroked_ my sole with her toe."

"Your _soul?"_ Waverly frowned. "Like your vitality, or like your inner Marvin Gaye?"

"Like the sole of my _foot_ , you spanner." Nicole laughed, flicking water at Waverly’s face. "Not that she's massaging my fucking _spirit_ to the beat of Let’s Get It On."

Waverly laughed so hard she stopped floating, spluttering as she righted herself with a giggling Nicole’s assistance. She blushed, raising her hand in apology as Sandra cleared her throat, throwing a scolding look in their direction. 

She lay back, the giggles wracking her again immediately as she felt Nicole scramble behind her, out of a floating Linda's path.

“Careful Waves, I’m pretty sure she’s after Sexual Healing.”

"Fuck off!" Waverly laughed, shoving a large splash of water over Nicole’s shit eating grin.

Nicole's responding yelp earned them another, louder clear of Sandra's throat, and a look that could only be referred to as a death stare. The redhead grinned as Waverly bit her cheek.

"I think maybe we should leave before we give Sandra a hernia."

At least they were alone in the sauna. The heat that wrapped tight around them instantly ebbed at the tension in Waverly’s muscles, and she sighed contentedly as she lay back against the slatted wooden bench. The almost burning planks pressed against the knots in her shoulders and she wriggled slightly in delight. She closed her eyes, the serenity of the quiet room pulling her into her own nirvana. She let her mind wander to dreams of sun and sand and sea, palm trees and peaceful ocean breeze, with Nicole’s bikini clad body beside her.

Or on top of her.

Where it rather suddenly was now.

She cracked an eye open, smirking as she met her girlfriend’s dimpled grin, her body laid fully across Waverly’s, her hands folded over the brunette’s chest, propping up her chin. She sighed, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s shoulders.

"You are _so_ hopeless at this."

"What?"

"Relaxing."

"I _am_ relaxed!" Nicole retorted. "I'm just _more_ relaxed this much closer to your boobs." She grinned.

Waverly rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to retort, the words lost in a very sudden, very unexpected, very _filthy_ kiss from her restless girlfriend. She groaned, her relaxation and their current location entirely forgotten as Nicole’s tongue curled into her mouth, her hips pressing dangerously down against Waverly’s barely clothed centre.

_Fuck._

Nicole’s fingers clutched at the sides of her bikini, twisting into the material and pulling it up, the pressure making her clit pulse instantly. 

_Shit._ There was a very real, very feasible possibility that her sexy firefighter girlfriend would make her come in mere minutes of simply making out in a public sauna, and Waverly was powerless to stop it.

She shuddered, fisting her hands in Nicole’s hair as she rolled her hips up into her, the heat between her thighs already unbearable as the redhead bore down against her.

The sound of the glass door rattling and the cold blast of the outside air burst their lust-fuelled trance, and Nicole shot back at record speed as an unsuspecting guest entered the sauna. Waverly couldn’t move. She closed her eyes, frozen in her trembling arousal as she fought to regain her senses. _Fuck._ She could _feel_ Nicole’s eyes on her but she couldn’t bring herself to meet them. She needed a moment of composure, and she knew full well that her girlfriend’s smug, mischievous face would only make this entire situation worse. She hauled herself up, avoiding eye contact with both the stranger and with Nicole as she rushed from the room, her girlfriend scrambling hot on her heels.

"I'm sorry, Wave, I…"

Waverly spun to face her, quirking an eyebrow at the guilty concern in mocha eyes. She grinned, shaking her head as Nicole let out an exhale of relief, her eyes melting back into their playful sparkle. 

Waverly smirked, her eyes flicking briefly over her girlfriend’s shoulder. She could get her back. If she _just_ lined this up right...

"You," she teased, stepping towards Nicole, forcing the redhead to take a shaky step back. "Need to take a cold shower."

She took another carefully calculated step forward, pushing the redhead back again.

Nicole realised too late.

She flailed, teetering on the edge of the ice cold plunge pool as Waverly pushed her backward, sending her thrashing into the polar water. 

_"God, fuck!"_

Waverly stifled a giggle, a heavy twinge of guilt gripping her chest as her girlfriend surfaced, spluttering and shivering, her skin paler than ever in the icy water. She winced apologetically, biting her lip as she rushed to grab Nicole’s robe, wrapping it round the redhead as she scrambled to get out of the water.

" _Worst_ birthday ever." Nicole’s tone was teasing, and she grinned cheekily, but her words shook as she shivered and Waverly felt even guiltier. She wrapped the robe tight around her shoulders, pulling her in close. 

"Come join me in the jacuzzi." Waverly slipped her fingers beneath the robe, trailing them above Nicole’s waistband. She smirked as her girlfriend exhaled slowly, the muscles of her stomach jumping beneath her touch. She husked her voice. "I'll make it up to you."

"I'm both aroused and disgusted," Nicole quirked a still shaking eyebrow. "You know how unsanitary that is?"

Waverly felt less guilty.

"You saying you _don't_ wanna make out with me in a hot tub?"

Nicole looked blankly at her for a long moment. 

"Lead the way."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

“Why is there a kitchen chair in the middle of your bedroom?”

Nicole raised an eyebrow expectantly as she spoke, her lopsided grin almost knowing as she trailed her fingers over the back of the chair.

“I need it for your present.” Waverly smirked.

“Wait…" Nicole’s eyes shot to her own. She grinned, stepping slowly around the chair and into Waverly’s space, wrapping her arms around her waist. "You have _another_ present for me?”

“Mmhmm.” Waverly dropped her voice, lacing a deliberate husk through it as she pushed her girlfriend down into the chair. “And I _think_ this one _might_ just be my favourite.”

Nicole visibly gulped, her cheeks flaming and her eyes widening as the implications of Waverly’s words and her current position seemed to take their hold. She took a shaky breath, holding the brunette’s gaze as Waverly trailed her hands slowly over her thighs, squeezing firmly as she reached the tops. Waverly bit her lip. She hadn't even _started,_ and Nicole was already a little less cocky, a little less in control than she had been just seconds ago. She was going to enjoy this.

"Stay there." She smirked, letting her lips brush lightly over Nicole’s as she spoke. She squeezed again over her girlfriend’s thighs as she closed the gap; just a little more heated, her tongue sinking in just a little deeper than was necessary, until the redhead’s moan vibrated through the kiss. She hummed, biting back her grin as Nicole chased her lips. "I will be right back."

Glazed, hooded eyes watched her as she backed away, something mischievous starting to flicker in the fire behind them that definitely didn't bear thinking about. Waverly had a plan, and she needed to stick to it. No matter how tempting that devilish gaze was. 

She shuddered, closing the door behind her. She scurried quickly to the bathroom, grabbing the bag she had stored there earlier on in the day, and hastily busied herself dressing.

She _knew_ she looked good. She had always felt confident in her cheerleader uniform, and putting it on now as an adult she felt _sexy_. More than capable of working her girlfriend into a state of zero control. Nicole’s pupils had blown and her chest had hitched at the mere _mention_ of this in the past, and so Waverly was more than confident that the reality would render her girlfriend something of a stuttering mess. She had been thinking about this _all_ week. The way Nicole’s eyes would glaze over; the way her lips would part and her tongue would dart out to wet them as she watched her girlfriend dance for her. The _power_ that Waverly would feel as she ground herself down into the firefighter’s lap, her muscles rolling to the beat of the music.

The way Nicole would _look._

Look, but not be allowed to _touch_.

She smirked, studying her reflection in the mirror as she applied a subtle coat of lipstick. Just enough to draw Nicole’s eyes. She felt strong as she headed back to the bedroom; empowered, and irresistible. She pushed the door open, swaying her hips deliberately as she entered the room.

She faltered slightly as she kicked the door closed behind her. Nicole had changed. She hadn't been expecting that. The redhead was now in her loose sweat shorts and a tightly fitted tank, her legs wide as she sat upright in the chair. That mischievous glint was still in her eyes; something almost _smug_ in them that knocked Waverly’s determined drive sideways.

That was, until those mocha eyes landed on Waverly. 

The reaction was everything Waverly had hoped for. The air thickened instantly, tightening in the brunette’s chest and in her core as embers sparked in Nicole's hooded eyes, the colour of desire running dark through them. They dropped slowly. Almost _too_ slowly, and Waverly had to fight the need to rush toward her girlfriend as they mapped every curve of her body with excruciating intensity. Full lips parted, strong fingers clasping hard around the edges of the chair as Nicole fought against her own primal urges.

 _"Wave…"_ The hushed whisper felt strained in the thick air, and the desire in that single word tugged hard between the brunette’s legs. _"Baby,_ you look…"

Nicole's tongue darted out to wet her lips, then that burning, lustful gaze was on Waverly’s, sending an unbearable heat through every vein in her body. Nicole swallowed thickly, her cheeks heating at the determined fire Waverly knew glowered in her own eyes. She smirked. 

Her girlfriend was _right_ where she wanted her.

She pushed the button on her phone, letting the slow, sensual beats of the song she had chosen play out into the almost pulsing air of the room. She kept her eyes trained on Nicole’s as she moved toward her. The redhead's lips trembled, and had the music been just a little louder, Waverly might have missed the low whimper that escaped her girlfriend's lips as she rolled her body to the beat, beginning the dance that she knew would _break_ Nicole. 

The dance wasn't choreographed. She’d known she wouldn't need it. There was no plan, and yet every move was painstakingly deliberate. Every grind of her hips, and every sweep of her hands. Every drop, every roll of her body. Each move designed to edge Nicole higher and higher, her reddened chest heaving and her knuckles white as they gripped the chair. It was electric. Waverly could feel the pulse rippling between her own legs as she moved, the stifling air almost painful in her lungs as she slowly closed the space between them.

"No touching, baby," Waverly murmured, heat searing low in her stomach at the pained, desperate look in her girlfriend’s eyes.

Those eyes followed her every move; glazed, awed, transfixed. Nicole let out a broken gasp as Waverly finally reached her, her knuckles tightening impossibly over the chair as she fought to keep her hands still. Waverly let her lips _just_ ghost Nicole’s, running a hand slowly over her chest, up over her shoulder and into her hair as she stepped over her, her legs either side of the redhead's thighs. She held hooded, almost predatory eyes as she gripped a little harder than necessary, tugging Nicole’s head back as she sank her hips into a deliberate grind over her girlfriend’s lap.

Nicole groaned. 

Waverly froze.

She held tight in Nicole’s hair, fiery eyes boring into her own as her girlfriend smirked knowingly. She ground her hips down again, her entire body trembling as her clit pressed mercilessly over the firm length of the toy hidden beneath Nicole’s sweat shorts.

Oh, _shit._

 _"Fuck,_ _Nic…"_

She had _not_ expected this.

This changed _everything._

The strapon had been one of Waverly’s Christmas presents to Nicole, and they had both enjoyed it multiple times over the past two weeks. But it hadn't even occurred to Waverly to expect this now, and the cocky fire in Nicole’s eyes told her the firefighter knew she'd taken her by surprise. She shivered. 

_Fuck._ She had certainly met her match in Nicole Haught. 

"Is this okay?" Nicole’s eyes flashed softer for a moment, and Waverly’s chest flooded warm. 

_Always_ Waverly. Always checking in. Always at the front of Nicole's mind. Always. God, she was in love.

Waverly nodded, grinning mischievously, and the fire of the game was back in Nicole’s eyes in an instant. 

Waverly smirked. This was _her_ game. And she was _determined_ to wipe that smug fire from those lust filled eyes.

She held Nicole’s gaze, tugging harder still in red hair as she rolled over the toy, pushing down against it in a way that she knew would push deliciously against the insert buried inside Nicole. Her girlfriend’s moan didn't disappoint.

The pulsing beat of the music blended, one song into another as Waverly continued to dance. Nicole’s bravado had only made her own pain worse as the brunette rolled every move over the length of the toy, shifting the insert torturously into her girlfriend’s core. The redhead’s hands shook as Waverly slipped her tank over her head, and the brunette didn't stop them from roaming as she pressed her own uniform clad body over the now exposed skin of her girlfriend’s chest. Nicole's dark eyes were burning with things Waverly had never seen in them before, and she felt her own desire heighten as she processed that this was a state of arousal far higher than anything she had pushed her girlfriend into before now.

How far could she push her? She smirked.

She waited for the beat, holding Nicole’s gaze as she sank back, dropping to her knees between her girlfriend’s legs. She bit her lip, a smug sense of pride rippling through her as Nicole groaned, her eyes rolling back as the muscles of her thighs began to tremble in anticipation. 

Waverly peeled the shorts back slowly, Nicole’s impatient hips making it easy to slide the material down and off of her girlfriend’s legs. She ghosted her lips over the inside of trembling thighs, her fingers grazing lightly as they followed behind. She held Nicole’s lust drunk gaze, smirking as she licked a long, slow stripe up the length of the toy. 

_"Fuck!"_

Nicole couldn't feel it. Of course she couldn't. The pressure wasn't nearly enough to provide any pleasure from the insert, and so the desperate whimper of arousal, and the way her girlfriend’s hips shook as she fought to hold them back sent a wave of overwhelming desire through Waverly’s entire body. 

"Wave… baby, _please."_

Nicole’s hands were white, shaking as they gripped the base of the chair, her chest spread with patches of deep red. Her parted lips were swollen, and a gentle sheen of sweat covered her body as she writhed gently against the wooden base. Waverly’s own clit was throbbing, her thighs aching with her need as she watched the state she had worked her girlfriend into, but she forced her mind to focus on the beat of the music. She wasn’t done. Not _just_ yet.

With the barrier of the shorts gone, Waverly’s own need was abundantly clear as she continued her dance, her core sliding effortlessly over the length of the toy. Nicole’s eyes were transfixed on the arousal painting the silicone, her jaw dropped and her breathing heavy.

Everything about it felt incredible. The way Nicole’s eyes burned, the desperate gasps and sighs that filled the room, and the way the firefighter’s hips bucked forward instinctively, the movement aiding the toy to nudge over Waverly’s clit in torturous thrusts that left her lungs shaking. She couldn’t take any more.

She hooked her finger under Nicole’s chin, pulling her up into a slow, deep, filthy kiss. She pulled back, holding her girlfriend’s heated gaze as she lifted her hips, lining herself up.

Nicole gasped, surprise and pleasure blending in a delicious sound that pulled hard in Waverly’s core as she lowered herself slowly over the head of the toy. Waverly’s thighs shook, a broken sob filling the room, her core clenching immediately around the length of the toy as she lowered over it, the burning pleasure gripping her instantly. Nicole’s hands grasped at her hips, firm but not guiding; _just_ controlled enough to let Waverly set the pace. Dark eyes watched, transfixed, the redhead’s swollen lips parted as Waverly sank down, whimpering with relief as she finally felt the searing warmth of Nicole’s thighs beneath her own.

She moved deliberately slowly, knowing that neither would last long if she upped the pace, both too turned on, too far gone to withstand the torture much longer. She rolled her hips, grinding sensually over the toy in a way that she knew would hit them _both_ in the sweetest way possible. It was excruciating; the soft groans of pleasure falling from Nicole’s lips, and the way her muscles trembled as she held herself back; and the way the head of the toy circled hard against the spot that made Waverly's head swim. She could feel her muscles tightening, and she could see the irregular heave of Nicole’s chest, and she knew they were both close.

The tease wasn't enough anymore. 

She needed more. She needed Nicole to let go.

"Baby…" she leaned forward, grinding hard against Nicole’s hips as she took the redhead’s earlobe between her teeth, biting down gently. "Fuck me." 

It was all it took. The thin, threadbare band of Nicole’s control snapped in an instant and she growled, low and almost animalistic in its desperate relief. She gripped Waverly’s hips tight, her own snapping hard as she thrust them up to meet the brunette’s grind. Waverly cried out, clutching desperately at Nicole’s shoulders as her girlfriend’s pace grew relentless, the sudden change burning in her entire body with every thrust.

 _God._

She had never seen Nicole’s eyes so _gone._ The moans filling the room grew louder, all restraint stripped bare as the pleasure built between them. Hands grasped and tugged at curves, thrusts getting messy and out of time as both chased their imminent highs, determined to push the other over before they fell themselves. 

It was _almost_ simultaneous, Waverly crashing mere seconds before Nicole, nails digging hard into skin and loud cries of each other’s names bouncing from the painted walls. Waverly pulled at Nicole’s hair, tugging her into a deep kiss as she pressed herself down into her girlfriend’s hips, desperate to prolong the pleasure for both of them as they rode out their high. 

They were still for a moment. Both fighting hard for breath as they clung to each other, waves of pleasure still rippling through their sated muscles.

 _"Oh._ My _fucking_ god. _Waverly."_ Nicole murmured, burying her face in her girlfriend’s neck with a satisfied grin. "Jesus Christ, you're _unbelievable._ Happy birthday to me." 

"I am not done with you." Waverly smirked. She lifted herself up, holding Nicole’s gaze as she backed toward the bed, beckoning with her finger. "Come and fuck me again, baby."

Nicole growled. She watched, her eyes flickering for a moment, before she surged forward. Her arms wrapped around Waverly’s thighs as she bent to pick her up, throwing her mercilessly down onto the bed. She smirked as she lowered herself over her girlfriend, her hands running over the underside of Waverly’s thighs, pushing them up against the brunette’s chest as she dragged the length of the toy over her still pulsing core.

"Best birthday _ever."_


	12. You Live Here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm saying the same thing every chapter but this is baffling to me, how many people are taking the time to give me love for this fic. I appreciate every single kudos/comment/tweet, and I never get tired of the noise my phone makes when the notifications come through!
> 
> Thank you 😊

Waverly stared at her screen, the letters in front of her barely holding any meaning. She was hungry, bored, and a little cranky at having to work on the first Valentine’s day in years when she’d actually had someone she could have spent the day with. She sighed. Three minutes until lunch. That was something, at least.

Chrissy abruptly wolf whistled, long and low behind her, and Waverly snapped her head around at the sound.

"Afternoon, _Sir._ " Chrissy grinned.

Waverly beamed, her stomach flipping in unexpected excitement at the sight of her girlfriend, leaning casually into their cubicle, her dimpled grin spread wide. Then she froze, her jaw dropping as her eyes scanned the length of the redhead’s body. 

Nicole was in uniform.

It didn’t matter how many times she saw Nicole in her full firefighter gear, the effect was still always instantaneous. Her palms grew sweaty, and her breathing grew a little quicker, and _god_ she had never been attracted to another person quite like she was to Nicole Haught. The heavy coat hung open, a tight t-shirt beneath the suspenders in place of the usual polo, and the redhead’s plait was a little looser and a little less meticulous than it usually was. It took Waverly a solid thirty seconds to even register that her girlfriend was holding a large bouquet of sunflowers in one hand. She grinned, all too aware that she was most definitely swooning.

"Waves, you're drooling." Chrissy stage whispered, winking at Waverly as she teased her. 

Waverly threw a pad of post-it notes at her colleague, pushing the wheeled chair and its irritating contents back into Chrissy's desk as she stood to greet her girlfriend. 

"What you doing, baby?" She smirked, running her fingers gently over the spread of Nicole’s heavy flame-resistant coat.

"I was _thinking_ I'd take my girlfriend for an impromptu lunch on valentine's day?" Nicole winked. That grin was unfairly smug.

"Dressed like that?" Waverly quirked an eyebrow, letting her eyes wander the length of the firefighter’s uniform once more. That t-shirt was _definitely_ so much tighter than usual...

She grinned, biting her lip cheekily as the redhead cleared her throat, and she tore her gaze back up to meet Nicole’s.

_Oh, shit._

Those eyes were on fire. It hadn't exactly been the most innocent of questions, but the burn behind Nicole’s gaze, and the tick of her lips into a knowing smirk pushed Waverly's mind immediately into the dirtiest waters, and she felt the heat trickle instantly beneath her skin. She swallowed thickly, her voice breaking _just_ enough for Nicole to notice.

"Where are we going?"

"Thought we could take the truck out to the viewpoint over the town?" Nicole shrugged nonchalantly, but her eyes still held that knowing tease that was sending Waverly’s blood into overdrive.

Wait...

Shit. 

_What?_

"Th-the _fire_ truck?"

Nicole nodded, her beaming, dimpled smile a picture of pure innocence, but those _eyes..._

The hint of a suggestion in dark eyes, the slightly dishevelled uniform, the cocky way the firefighter leaned against the partition wall... Waverly could feel her thighs begin to tremble with desire, and she was overly aware still of the watchful eyes of her best friends behind her. They shared a _lot_ of things, but she wasn't entirely convinced they'd be overly happy with her sweeping her belongings from her desk and having her firefighter fuck her in their cubicle. 

Besides, the _truck?_

She shivered. 

"What we waiting for, then?" She winked, tugging on Nicole’s suspenders and snapping them back playfully.

"This is an _outrage."_ Jeremy sputtered, spinning on his chair to face Waverly as he threw his hands in the air in frustration. "We _both_ date sexy firefighters, why are _you_ the one who gets to fuck in the truck?"

Waverly faltered, her core twinging harder at the words. That was precisely what she was _hoping_ was happening here, but was this _really_ what Nicole was planning? It kinda felt like it _could_ be, but she didn't dare to dream. Did she?

 _"Excuse me!_ What do you think I am, Chetri, an animal?" Nicole retorted, the playfulness in her eyes still contradicting the stern rebuttal in her voice. She grinned. "I packed us a picnic." 

"Oh, forgive me.” Jeremy laughed, shaking his head. “Why are you the one who gets to _snack_ in the truck?"

Waverly smirked. 

"Because _my_ firefighter is the best," she sang, planting a kiss on Nicole’s cheek before beginning to gather her coat and her things.

"Is that so?" Nicole quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head in the direction of Waverly’s workspace. "Then care to explain why Robin’s abs are on your desk?"

 _"Jeremy!"_ Waverly groaned, her eyes flying to the calendar propped against the wall behind her desk. She growled. "How many times? Get your own!"

"This is a communal space, Earp.” Jeremy held his hands up in defence. “Equal opportunities for all abs. Equal _ab_ ortunities, if you will."

 _"Oh,_ well in _that_ case,” Chrissy interjected, “can we _please_ put Mr September up tomor…"

 _"No."_

Nicole giggled as both Waverly and Jeremy cut their friend off in unison, and Chrissy rolled her eyes. Waverly pointed at the calendar, and then at Jeremy, painting her best stern look across her face.

"My girlfriend’s greasy chest had better be back on that desk by the time I get back, Chetri, or this is war!"

Waverly's head was swimming as she walked through the office, her hand wrapped in Nicole’s. There was a playful kind of tension in the air between them, something unspoken that was sparking embers just below the surface, lighting flickers of flame in Waverly’s core. She knew her girlfriend well enough now to know what the spark in those eyes meant, and she could barely contain herself. She grinned, waving cheerily at the receptionist as they passed through the lobby. 

Did the receptionist know?

Did she know Waverly was very probably being whisked off to fulfil one of the hottest fantasies she had ever had with the woman she loved, who just so happened to be the sexiest person she had ever seen?

Was she jealous?

Waverly bit her lip. She couldn’t help the smug feeling that gripped her, and she squeezed Nicole’s hand a little tighter. 

Of course she was jealous.

How could people _not_ be jealous of her, when her girlfriend looked like _that?_ And in the god damn _fucking_ uniform?

Gold. She’d definitely struck gold.

Nicole’s smirk was somehow more cocky than ever as she led Waverly around to the passenger door of the firetruck cabin. Every move felt so deliberate; so specifically designed to make the brunette’s heart flutter, and Waverly was feeling more sure by the minute that she was about to be shown a whole new kind of heaven. Her breath caught in her throat as Nicole leaned forward, her body pressing her own up against the side of the truck as she reached to open the door, playful eyes not leaving the brunette’s. The firefighter grinned, biting her lip with a cheeky wink as she effortlessly lifted Waverly into her arms and swept her up into the cabin.

Waverly couldn’t breathe. This had been her deepest fantasy since the very moment Nicole Haught had uttered the word _firefighter,_ and she was definitely struggling to keep her filthy hopes in check. Was her girlfriend really planning to whisk her off in the firetruck in the middle of the working day and fuck her senseless in uniform? Cause it _really_ felt like that might be happening, and Waverly was about nine thousand percent certain that she would never, _ever_ recover if it did. 

She needed to calm down. She was getting _way_ ahead of herself. This was Nicole’s work truck, it was the middle of the day. Nicole had packed a picnic. They were going to go and enjoy a nice lunch, over the viewpoint, and Waverly would squirm awkwardly in her seat for an hour at the unbearable attraction to that god damn uniform.

But then, those _eyes…_

She _knew_ those eyes. 

And that _smug_ , mischievous smirk. She knew them so well. She shivered. 

There was also one other, _tiny,_ unimportant, minor little detail that Waverly couldn’t quite shake. One that made her _very_ sure just what Nicole’s intentions were for her right now. She grinned.

"Don't they need this truck for like, actual firefighting?" 

Waverly kept her voice teasing as she trailed her fingers over the buttons that lined the dashboard, watching the redhead carefully as she made the five minute drive out to the ridgeway that overlooked the town for miles. She could feel the butterflies pounding in her stomach as the truck pulled off the beaten track, and down into the quiet dirt lane that gave the best views.

"This truck is out of use, the on board equipment needs repair." Nicole grinned, pulling the truck to a stop, turning to face Waverly as she spoke. "Nedley let me borrow it." 

Waverly cocked an eyebrow. 

"Nedley let you take the broken truck so you could fuck your girlfriend on Valentine's day?"

Nicole's eyes flashed dark, and she bit back a smirk as she looked at Waverly for a long moment.

"And what makes you think that's my plan?" 

Waverly grinned, leaning back against the door of the truck as she brought her legs up onto the seat, laying her feet in Nicole’s lap.

_Tiny, minor detail._

"You're wearing your full uniform." 

"And?" Nicole’s face was straight, but there was a dark lace beneath her voice that sent a shiver down Waverly's spine. Something so knowing, and so teasing that it gave the brunette goosebumps. 

_Tiny detail. Irrelevant, really._

"It's your day off."

Waverly smirked, dropping her knees apart just slightly, the movement causing her skirt to ride higher around her thighs. She bit her lip, her stomach clenching at the way Nicole’s eyes flickered with both desire and amusement as they followed the movement and she chuckled, nodding slowly.

"I slaved away over a picnic for you, Earp." 

Her voice was _so_ low, and even as the words left her lips, she inched forward, slipping her body between her girlfriend’s legs. Waverly’s breath caught thick in her throat as Nicole’s hands ran torturously slowly along the underside of her calves, the touch growing firmer as it trailed over the back of her thighs.

"But if you had other things in mind, then who am I to argue?" She smirked. 

Waverly whimpered, her whole body alight with arousal as Nicole tugged, pulling her to the edge of the seat as the firefighter dropped to her knees on the floor of the cabin.

Oh _god._

She was dreaming. She must, surely, be dreaming. 

_Fuck._

Nicole grinned, overly cocky, burning eyes boring into Waverly’s as she pulled the brunette’s legs over her shoulders, beginning to trail soft kisses over the insides of her thighs.

Waverly groaned. Nicole hadn't even touched her yet, and she was already fulfilling more of her fantasies than she could ever have imagined. There was something _so_ sexy in the confidence that Nicole exuded in her uniform; something so authoritative and so powerful that it made Waverly's pulse race. 

The things she would let _this_ Nicole do to her. 

_Jesus._

She whimpered, her thighs starting to tremble as the firefighter pushed her skirt up higher around her hips and slipped her thong to the side, her fiery eyes fixed on the brunette’s. There was a long pause, and Nicole’s smirk grew impossibly smug as Waverly gripped the edge of the seat in anticipation. She couldn’t deal with this. She'd been dreaming of this for almost seven months, and with it _so_ close to her grasp, the dream was fast becoming a desperate need.

"Nic, _don't_ tease." Waverly blushed at the whine in her voice, her knuckles white as they gripped at the seat in an effort to hold her hips back from just _taking_ what she needed from her girlfriend’s lips.

Nicole grinned, wrapping her hands firmly around Waverly’s hips to hold her down. She hesitated for just a moment longer, before she finally leaned forward, dragging her tongue in a long, slow stroke through already heated, swollen flesh. 

Waverly moaned.

Oh, sweet _christ._

Her hands flew into Nicole’s hair, clutching frantically as the redhead’s tongue curled around her clit, sucking it into her mouth. 

Yeah, she would never. Ever. Recover from this.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly placed the last of the dishes in the drying rack, and ran the tap to rinse the suds from her hands. The meal had been amazing, and the clean up had taken barely any time at all with Nicole beside her helping. She loved the days when her girlfriend wasn't working in the evenings. The routine of dinner and their daily chores just seemed to be _lifted_ somehow when the redhead was around. Nicole’s presence could make the simplest, most mundane of tasks seem lighter, and the way she would sing along or dance around as she worked made Waverly’s heart swell. And the way she would pause every so often to give her girlfriend a kiss, or a cuddle, or a little touch that just reminded the brunette that she was thinking about her, made Waverly fall deeper in love every day. Without fail.

She grinned, humming contentedly as Nicole moved behind her, wrapping her arms around Waverly’s middle and placing a soft kiss beneath her ear. She leaned back into the embrace, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the moment of quiet affection. She was genuinely certain that she could stay wrapped in Nicole forever and it would never get old.

Nicole was still, bar the gentle nuzzle of her nose into the soft skin of Waverly’s neck, but the brunette could _feel_ the beat of her girlfriend’s heart against her back, and the slightly harder than usual fall of her breath against her neck. She wrapped her hands over Nicole’s, pulling her tighter. She furrowed her brows, her heart lurching into her throat. Were Nicole’s hands shaking? 

Was she _nervous?_

Before Waverly could open her mouth to form the question, her girlfriend’s murmured voice vibrated over her pulse point.

"Move in with me?"

Waverly stilled. 

_Huh?_

She frowned. Those words were definitely a good thing, but for very obvious reasons, they just wouldn't quite process in her mind and she pursed her lips, turning in her girlfriend’s arms to face her.

"I…" she searched Nicole’s face, her confusion not quite allowing her to embrace the butterflies that surged at the whispered request. "Do I need to remind you again that you live _here?_ "

"I know, I know, I just…" Nicole smiled shyly, her cheeks tinting slightly in a blush that made Waverly's knees weak. She shrugged, her voice barely a whisper. "I wanna live _with_ you, with you."

Waverly was _sure_ this was adorable. 

The blush, the soft smile, the murmured words. It all _looked_ and somehow _felt_ beyond adorable. 

She just really didn't understand _what_ was going on.

She shook her head, her nose wrinkling.

"You're gonna need to expand on this a little, baby, because I'm kinda lost here."

Nicole grinned bashfully, her arms wrapping around Waverly’s waist as she lifted her up onto the counter and pulled her legs around her middle. She planted a soft kiss on the end of the brunette’s nose, chuckling quietly as she considered her next words.

"I live here as your tenant. I-I want to live here as… as your _partner."_ Nicole shrugged, her fingers slipping beneath Waverly’s shirt, tracing familiar circles around the dimples in the small of her back. "You know, get matching towels and pick out bedding together. Call my room the _guest room."_

Waverly blinked. 

Whatever she had thought had been happening, this was _infinitely_ more adorable, and she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted herself to speak without bawling.

She settled instead for staring for a long while longer, selfishly absorbing the signs of quiet nerves in her girlfriend’s face. The wide eyes that flickered between her own, the raised eyebrows, the flushed cheeks, the reddened ears, and the way her tongue kept darting out to wet her lips.

Waverly huffed out a soft laugh. This really only clarified one thing. Nicole loved her. She _really,_ truly loved her, and she felt almost overwhelmed with the way that that realisation seeped into her skin and settled so comfortably into her bones. Waverly knew she needed to say something, but she just wasn't sure she had the words she needed.

"H-have both our names on the mailbox?" Nicole’s voice was trembling slightly as she broke the silence, her eyes widening further as she prompted the brunette for a response. "Do a joint answerphone message?"

Waverly beamed. She wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck, pulling her close.

"We have neither a mailbox nor a house phone, Nic."

"Well we can _get_ them." Nicole grinned. "I love you, Waverly, I just wanna share everything with you."

Waverly’s eyes filled with tears, and this time there was nothing she could do to hold them back. She chuckled as Nicole immediately frowned in concern, and she quickly kissed the crease in her brow.

 _"God,_ I love you _so_ much." She grinned, brushing her lips lightly over her girlfriend’s. 

Nicole's eyes creased with the spread of her beaming grin.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, please Nic. Please move in with me."

" _Yes!"_ Nicole pulled a fist at her side in celebration before pulling Waverly into a slow, lingering kiss.

She pulled back, her eyebrow shooting up playfully.

"Can we put a games room in the spare bedroom?"

"Absolutely not."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"So you guys are really doing this, huh?"

Wynonna swirled her fork around her plate, pushing the vegetables that she had outright ignored around in her sea of leftover gravy.

"I _know,_ right?" Nicole’s eyes widened, her voice incredulous. She shoved a forkful of roast potato into her mouth, waving the fork animatedly in front of her as she continued to talk around it. "So much is gonna change, it-it's just such a _big_ step."

"Dude this better not change anything between me and you, you know?" Wynonna’s voice grew serious, her eyes almost puppy dog as she watched Nicole hopefully. "We better still have Wynaught time."

"No. No, dude, I swear!" Nicole held her hands up in defence, flecks of gravy dripping from the fork still clenched in one. "It'll be like nothing's changed."

Waverly intervened. 

"Nothing _has_ changed you pair of wilted leeks, we've lived together for your _entire_ friendship."

Wynonna shook her head, her eyes glazing over as she stared vacantly over Waverly’s shoulder. 

"Who'd have ever thought it? My best friend and my baby sister." She shrugged, snapping her focus back to her plate. "I gotta say, I didn't see it coming."

Waverly rolled her eyes.

"Wynonna, you _didn't know her_ before we…"

"Look, Wy!" 

Nicole interjected, laying her hand to rest on Wynonna’s shoulder. Her eyes were earnest, but Waverly was pretty sure she could still see the playful trace buried somewhere deep within them. Or at least, she bloody _hoped_ she could.

"I love Waverly more, but I've loved you the longest okay, dude? Bros never change." She clapped Wynonna on the back. 

"Honestly…" Waverly sighed. 

It was more to herself, really. She knew it was hopeless.

"Plus," Nicole grinned, wriggling her eyebrows, her voice far more animated. "We're gonna make the spare room into a games room so we can have poker nights in there every…"

 _"No,_ we are not." Waverly cut her off, her brows raised sternly.

Nicole grinned, throwing the brunette a cheeky wink that told her everything she needed to know, before she scoffed, shaking her head in Wynonna’s direction. 

"That's what _she_ thinks."

Waverly flicked a pea at her.

"Asshole."


	13. Everything is Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And just like that we are at the end of this journey!
> 
> This fic started as a five chapter trope to keep me busy and stop me posting my Christmas fic way too early, but the incredible feedback and the great fun I've had writing it very quickly expanded it into an additional eight chapters and I'm glad it did! It will be ending here, because I have other fics I want to work on, but I can almost guarantee you that these two will crop up in one shots in the future, so watch this space.
> 
> Huge thank you to Artemis_17 for helping me bounce ideas with this, and for reading every section before I posted it, sometimes more than once! Go go go check out Dog Days and Clichés if you haven't already, because it's well worth it.
> 
> And a massive thank you again to everyone who has commented on this, left kudos, shared it on twitter etc. Would have ended eight chapters ago without you ;)
> 
> Happy Thursday!

In the seventh month of living with Nicole Haught, Waverly changed her emergency contact details. It was a milestone _._

_Cohabiting._

It sounded so official. So _real._

She had even bought a little wooden plaque to hang in the hallway, their names engraved with the words ‘home sweet home’.

She was completely elated, completely over excited, and she was pretty sure if she mentioned it one more time to Wynonna, Jeremy, or Chrissy, she might end up with her adorable little plaque shoved somewhere that was definitely _very_ far from home sweet home. But she couldn’t help it!

On the first Saturday afternoon after they’d moved Nicole’s things into Waverly’s bedroom, the brunette trotted excitedly into her favourite home store, her hand clasped in her girlfriend’s, on a mission to find matching towels and pick out bedding. It was the _perfect_ Saturday activity for Waverly. She _loved_ the home store, and she _really_ loved everything about ‘moving in’ with Nicole.

“Do we _need_ a cart?” Nicole frowned, taking the handle of the large shopping trolley that Waverly had pushed in her direction. “We’re buying towels and bedsheets.”

“And cushions!” Waverly sang.

“Cushions?” Nicole halted, her eyebrow shooting up as she studied her girlfriend warily.

“Cushions.” Waverly grinned, skipping off into the aisles she knew so well, leaving Nicole scurrying after her with the cart. “For the bed.”

“Wh… there are _six_ cushions on the bed already.” Nicole watched, wide eyed and brow creased as Waverly rooted through the various different colours and patterns and fabrics that lined the shelves.

“And now that it’s _both_ of our bed...” Waverly threw a cushion into the cart. “We need twelve!”

Nicole balked.

“We absolutely do _not_ need twelve.”

Waverly smirked, biting back a chuckle as she outwardly ignored her girlfriend’s baffled protests. She carefully selected another cushion, throwing it haphazardly into the cart as Nicole huffed.

“No!” Nicole scrambled to pull the cart back as Waverly moved to throw a third cushion in. “No more, I’ll go without. I’ll sacrifice my share of cushions for the space to _move._ ”

Waverly bit back a giggle. She knew it was cruel really, but a slightly frustrated Nicole was just _so_ cute, and she couldn’t help but push the buttons. She took her aim and threw, grinning as the cushion landed in the cart and Nicole sighed, shaking her head.

“What do you have against cushions, Haught?”

“They are a waste of my time, throwing them from the bed every single night, just to pick them all back up again every morning and _Waverly Earp,_ don't you dare!”

Waverly smirked as she held Nicole’s bemused eyes, wriggling her eyebrows as she threw a fourth cushion toward the cart, Nicole’s hands shooting out in a failed effort to catch it before it could land. The redhead’s eyes flashed, exasperation melting into a playful tease as she bit her lip. She held Waverly’s gaze as she stepped slowly around the cart, clear mischievous intent in her eyes. Waverly’s stomach flipped in anticipation. She _loved_ that playful look, but she had quickly grown to recognise that it meant trouble.

“Nic, don’t…” she took a tentative step back, her giggles already shaking her stomach at the impish look in Nicole’s eyes, and the lopsided smirk tugging at her dimples.

She squealed, scrambling to get away as Nicole lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Waverly’s waist and lifting her up.

“Nicole!” She giggled, kicking her legs as the redhead lifted her clean above her waist. “Put me down, I need to choose two more.”

 _“No,_ you do not.” Nicole chuckled, effortlessly holding against Waverly’s flailing struggles.

The woman’s strength really was both a blessing and a curse. Waverly really couldn’t say quite how the firefighter managed it, but she somehow found herself sitting high on a shelf, surrounded by cushions, her waist now level with Nicole’s smug face. She huffed, wrapping her legs over Nicole’s shoulders for stability.

“No more cushions, or I’m leaving you there.” Nicole raised an eyebrow in warning, the spark in her eyes betraying her amusement.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Waverly grinned. She picked up the closest cushion to her, throwing it over Nicole’s shoulder and laughing in triumph as it landed in the cart.

The triumph was short lived. 

“No! Nic…” She flailed in a slight panic, fighting to hold Nicole's shoulders between her legs as the firefighter shook her head in mock disappointment, disentangling herself and backing away across the aisle. With Nicole no longer there as a barrier, the shelf suddenly felt way higher than it should have, and significantly less stable. Waverly gripped the edge, leaning forward in an effort to see the floor below her. She wasn’t entirely sure she trusted the shelf not to collapse beneath her if she tried to get herself down. “Game over, Haught.”

“We had a deal, Earp.” Nicole grinned.

“No!”

Waverly watched in frustration as her girlfriend set about replacing the cushions she had gathered in the cart. She had never really considered a whistle _smug_ before, but the tune that Nicole made as she blatantly ignored the brunette’s splutters of protest was irritatingly cocky.

“Don’t you dare!” Waverly demanded, gripping a little tighter to the edge of the shelf as the firefighter ambled down the aisle with the cart, seemingly genuinely intent on leaving Waverly to solve her dilemma herself.

 _Surely_ she wouldn’t.

Would she?

She really was getting quite far away…

“Nic?”

Wait.

Where had she _gone?_

“Nicole Haught, _get back here.”_

Waverly breathed a sigh of relief as her girlfriend’s cocky, dimpled grin appeared around the end of the aisle, her eyebrows raised in question.

“This is neglect, get me down!”

“Promise no more cushions?” Nicole took a step closer, her hands up in defense as if she expected some kind of soft furnishing onslaught.

 _“Okay!”_ Waverly relented, giving her best pleading look as she held her arms out for her girlfriend.

She giggled as Nicole beamed, happily closing the gap between them and turning her back to Waverly, gesturing for her to climb on. The brunette wrapped her arms and her legs tightly around her girlfriend as they made their way through the aisles. She had every belief that this was merely a method of distraction and an excuse to leave the cart behind, but she was _more_ than happy to indulge it if it meant being carried around the store by her sexy firefighter.

“Wanna try out this bed?” Nicole turned her head to look back at Waverly, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively as she carried her towards a neatly dressed king size display bed, throws and cushions covering the silk bedsheets. 

Waverly _knew_ the eyebrow wriggle had been intended to be suggestive, but she was all too familiar with her girlfriend’s ridiculous behaviour by now, and she knew _exactly_ what was coming.

And she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

_“No!”_

It was pointless really.

She clung tightly to Nicole’s shoulders, squealing as the redhead leapt forwards, sending them both flying with a bounce onto the mattress with a grunt, Waverly sprawled across her girlfriend’s back. She groaned.

“Asshole.”

Waverly felt the vibrations through Nicole’s torso as she chuckled, her face buried in the mattress. She yelped in anticipation as she felt the movement of limbs, but there was no time to move before the redhead flipped herself around, sending Waverly bouncing off to the side. She exhaled slowly, chuckling in amusement at the self-satisfied grin on her girlfriend’s face.

“You’re ridiculous, Haught.”

Nicole chuckled, shuffling gracelessly over to close the gap between them, wrapping her arm over Waverly’s waist as she leaned in to kiss her.

“I love you baby,” Waverly whispered, her lips brushing against Nicole’s. “But I am _not_ making out with you on a stage bed in the middle of the home store.” She laughed, planting her hands on Nicole’s shoulders and pushing her back as the redhead pouted. “Get up!”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the ninth month, Waverly was pottering around in the garden, when Nicole appeared in the doorway of the house wearing a fucking _toolbelt._ Her orange flannel was tied around her waist, her faded white T-Shirt clung to her curves, and her hair was shoved messily into something that just about represented a bun. 

Waverly stared.

 _God_ , her girlfriend was sexy.

This really would _never_ get old.

She raised an eyebrow, letting her eyes run slowly and unashamedly over the redhead’s body as she approached her, enjoying the way she could still make those ears tint red just with a little … _appreciation._ She grinned as she closed the gap, running her hands over her girlfriend’s chest as she leaned in to kiss her, just a little more heated than was really necessary.

"To _what_ do I owe this pleasure?" She murmured, her hands trailing down the redhead’s body and tugging gently on the toolbelt.

Nicole chuckled, capturing Waverly’s lips once more in a soft kiss.

"I'm gonna build us a shed."

Waverly furrowed her brows.

"We have a shed."

"No,” Nicole rebutted, “we have a wooden box that doesn't close when the mower is in there. I'm gonna build us a _shed."_ She grinned.

"Will it have windows?"

Nicole blinked, tilting her head to the side.

"Why would it need windows?" 

"To see out of!"

Nicole huffed out a chuckle, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"It's a glorified cupboard, how much time will you be spending inside it?"

Waverly shrugged. She'd just always pictured a cute little shed with windows. But she could accept that perhaps that might be pushing Nicole’s DIY skills slightly past its limit.

Not that she would _ever_ say that to her girlfriend.

"You want help?"

"No, I got this!” Nicole stepped back, grinning as she shifted her toolbelt in a way that was visibly intended to be, and frankly greatly succeeded in being, _very_ fucking sexy. Waverly swallowed.

"Will it at least be pretty?"

"It will be the prettiest little shed you've ever seen, baby. I promise you." Nicole grinned, winking cheekily. "I'll even let you paint it."

_"Yes!"_

This was great. This meant the _best_ thing. 

Waverly could go to the home store!

She beamed, bouncing on her toes to give Nicole a kiss, before scurrying off to get her things. 

By the time she returned, several different paint colours in hand from an indecisive hour poring over the aisles, Nicole was in the corner of the garden _surrounded_ by wood and screws. She was very clearly in the middle of a determined battle with a resistant screw, and she looked a little bit dishevelled, and a lot pissed off, and Waverly bit her cheek to hide her amusement as she approached slowly. 

"How's it going, baby?" She honeyed her voice, placing the paint pots down and laying her hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders as the redhead lowered her arms, massaging them gently.

"Fine."

It was a grunt, really. A downright grumpy grunt that told Waverly everything she needed to know about how it was _really_ going, although it was followed with a gentle kiss to her hand that made the brunette’s heart swell. This was one of the things she loved the most about Nicole. That even when the world was pissing her off, she never let it feel like Waverly was the target.

"You sure?" Waverly kissed the back of the redhead’s shoulder. "Need my help yet?"

 _"No!"_

Nicole grunted heavily as she finally won her battle with the screw, her eyes widening in triumph. For a brief moment. Until some piece of wood somewhere seemingly unrelated on the opposite side of the structure came crashing down.

Nicole simply stared in anguish at it, and Waverly had to bite back a giggle at the morose look on her girlfriend’s face. 

She _knew_ she shouldn’t ask, but it was instinctive. It was the scholar and the researcher in her that just couldn’t hold the question back.

"What do the instructions say?"

Nicole closed her eyes, exhaling heavily through her nose.

"I followed the fucking instructions and this is what it said to do! It's shit!"

Waverly wasn't listening, having fully expected that exact answer. She was already poring through the creased pages, her eyes scanning the various wood pieces strewn across the lawn.

"Doesn't this bit go here?" She gestured between the rickety structure, the piles of wood, and the sparsely drawn image on the instruction manual. 

Nicole frowned as she leaned over Waverly’s shoulder, studying the manual quietly for a moment.

"Fuck." She sighed.

"Are you sure you don’t want me to…"

 _"No,_ I can _do_ it!"

Waverly smirked, tapping Nicole on the ass as the redhead grumbled, setting her drill ready to remove the resistant screw she had so triumphantly beaten only minutes beforehand.

"I'll make coffee." She grinned.

The sun was out, Waverly had finally mastered the art of Nicole’s stupid coffee machine, and the view was _great_ as the brunette sat back on one of their sun loungers to watch her girlfriend work. She really did look very sexy with her power tools, and the concentration and the slight fire of frustration in her eyes was only making the aesthetic sexier in Waverly’s humble opinion. 

Frankly she was finding it a little difficult not to intervene and drag her off into the house.

The only thing stopping her was the fact that the shed was starting to take a shape that looked like an actual shed. It had walls, and a doorframe, and a roof, and Nicole was looking happier by the minute. She had even relented enough to let Waverly read out the instructions, and the brunette would even go as far as to say she looked proud of her wooden masterpiece. Waverly whooped and cheered as Nicole drilled the door onto it’s hinges, grinning widely with self-satisfaction.

"See! Told you I didn't need help!" She wiped her brow as she stepped back, wrapping her arm around Waverly’s shoulders as they studied the shed.

“I’m very proud of you, baby.” Waverly grinned, pulling Nicole down into a heated kiss. “And more than a little turned on.”

Nicole grinned, the tint of a blush painting her ears as Waverly squeezed her ass, then skipped off toward the shed. The brunette flicked the little latch, pulling the door back gently. She held her breath as the hinges creaked, then there was silence. 

She exhaled in relief.

Prematurely.

It was like it was in slow motion. There was a slight tremble, and then the entire back wall collapsed, taking half of the roof with it.

Waverly tensed, barely even daring to turn to face her girlfriend. The long silence said more than enough. She turned slowly, her face screwed into a grimace as she met Nicole’s gaze.

The redhead sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat. Honestly, she didn’t even look mad. 

"I love you, baby.” She chuckled softly, her eyes pleading. “Please help me?"

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the eleventh month Waverly got the _fucking_ flu. 

She never got sick! 

She hated being sick.

It was probably a good thing that Nicole was still out working a night shift, as it was very unlikely that the redhead would have let Waverly get out of bed without a fight. 

She was pretty grey, after all.

But she was an Earp, and Earps were nothing if not stubborn, so she hauled her aching body from her bed with an unrivalled level of determination, took every form of medication she could find in the cupboard, and dragged herself into the office.

By 10am, Waverly's boss had sent her home.

She'd put up the best fight she could, but even she couldn't deny that she'd been slightly too close to passing out for it to really be worth the argument, and so she had reluctantly slunk to the car and practically crawled through the front door of her home.

"Wave?"

Nicole’s voice sounded from the bathroom as Waverly closed the door behind her, her face popping out into the hallway moments later. She furrowed her brows.

"What are you…" Nicole’s eyes widened in realisation as she searched her girlfriend’s face. " _Oh,_ baby, you're sick?" She rushed into the hallway, wrapping her arms around the brunette and pulling her close.

Now that she was at home, with Nicole's arms snug around her, Waverly’s bravado crumbled instantly and she felt utterly pathetic. She whimpered as she nodded, burying herself into Nicole’s chest as if somehow her girlfriend could cocoon her into health. As the redhead cuddled her tighter, Waverly felt the last of her energy seep away, safe enough in her girlfriend’s arms to let her pick up the pieces.

She smiled softly as Nicole kissed her clammy head, then lifted her into her arms, so gently that Waverly barely even noticed. She buried her face into her girlfriend’s neck as the firefighter carried her into the bedroom, pulled back the blankets, and laid her carefully on the bed, kissing her forehead once more. Somewhere in her hazy mind, Waverly was vaguely aware of Nicole rummaging around in the drawers, and she helped as best as her weakened body would allow her as her girlfriend stripped her of her office clothes, and bundled her into her favourite pyjamas.

She slumped back into the pillows, her body curling instinctively into a ball as Nicole’s footsteps retreated down the hall toward the kitchen. She nestled further, suddenly undeniably grateful for her boss's insistence as every single one of her muscles seemed to scream in pain. She whimpered, words feeling like more effort than it was worth as Nicole’s footsteps reappeared in the room around her. She forced her eyes open, a lazy smile managing to make its way across her face as she spotted the ridiculous tray the redhead was carrying. 

Waverly could make out a mug of tea, a glass of water, a jug of juice, a bottle of Lucozade and what she assumed was a flask of soup. There were boxes of every form of medication they had, plus some that Waverly was _pretty_ certain she hadn't come across on her own search that morning.

"I didn't know what you'd need," Nicole shrugged, her voice soft as she placed the tray on Waverly’s bedside table. "But I wanted to make sure that whatever it was, you got it."

For the first time in eleven months, Waverly was deeply thankful that her girlfriend had worked a night shift, because nothing had ever felt more comforting to her when she felt vulnerable than the feeling of the redhead climbing into their bed behind her, tucking herself up close around the brunette’s body. Soft, loving fingers stroked aimless patterns over the burning skin of her back, and she couldn’t remember a time when she had _ever_ felt so safe and so cared for. Despite the pain and the fever and the tremble in her muscles, Waverly drifted off to sleep with a soft smile on her lips.

When she woke, she felt a little less sorry for herself. Her muscles still ached, but the shakes had subsided and the pounding pain behind her eyes had eased. She felt a little more alive, but as a result she was uncomfortably aware of how cold and clammy she was in her sweat soaked clothes, and she still couldn’t quite muster the energy to do anything about it. 

The bed beside her was empty, and Waverly could hear familiar movement out in the kitchen. The tea beside her was still steaming, and Waverly’s chest flooded warm at the realisation that Nicole must have replaced it despite it having been untouched. She wondered how many times it had been refilled.

She hauled herself up, propping her back against the headboard as she brought the mug to her lips, her eyes flicking to the doorway as Nicole manoeuvred her way through it carrying yet another tray. Waverly perked slightly as the smell of the stew filled the air, the strong scents of ginger and garlic forcing their way through the stuffy congestion in her head.

"My Grandma always used to make this when I was sick." Nicole settled herself on the edge of the bed, smiling softly as she handed Waverly the tray. She grinned. "Pretty sure there's zero science behind it but I feel fucking _great_ when I eat it, so worth a go."

"Thank you, baby." Waverly stirred the stew, the aroma and the heat already making her head feel clearer. "You really are a hero."

"I know." Nicole grinned, planting a kiss on the side of Waverly’s head as the brunette tucked into the stew. "How're you feeling?"

"Kinda clammy."

"Then it's a good job I ran you a bath."

Oh, _honestly._

Waverly sighed. She knew she was swooning, and frankly she didn't think she could be blamed. 

"What?" Nicole blushed, narrowing her eyes slightly in suspicion as she watched Waverly’s moony face.

Waverly grinned. 

"You love me."

Nicole chuckled, her eyes softening. 

"Yes, I do." She smiled softly, running a hand gently over Waverly’s forehead, pushing her sticky hair away from her face. "I really, _really_ do."

Waverly knew it probably wasn't the best time, and probably wasn't the most pleasant experience Nicole would ever have, but she couldn’t help but kiss her. Not when she was _that_ cute. Nicole smiled, rubbing her nose lightly over Waverly’s as she pulled back.

"Now come on, you smell like a damp sock."

Waverly laughed, shaking her head in mock disapproval. 

"You used to be so charming."

"I'm still charming, that oozed charm." Nicole grinned, sweeping Waverly up into her arms and carrying her into the bathroom.

"Asshole."

Waverly was pretty sure a bath had never been so perfect. The warm water soothed her aching muscles, and the lavender scent of the bubble bath relaxed her foggy brain. She sank back, letting the bubbles cloud around her shoulders. 

"Want me to leave you to soak?" Nicole murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Waverly’s head. 

"Absolutely not, get in here and sponge me down." Waverly grinned.

Nicole chuckled, rolling her eyes as she lifted her own T-Shirt over her head, and dropped her lounge shorts. Waverly let her eyes roam her girlfriend’s body, that familiar heat coursing beneath her skin at the sight. Even when her body felt like it was fighting for its own survival, it still responded instantly to the depth of Waverly’s attraction to the redhead. 

She grunted. It was visceral. She couldn’t have helped it if she tried, she was too weak.

"Did you just _grunt?"_ Nicole’s eyebrows shot up, and she huffed out a laugh. "Animal! I am not a piece of meat, Earp."

Waverly grinned. 

"I'm sick, I've only got the capacity for my primal urges."

Nicole laughed, climbing carefully into the tub and settling herself behind her girlfriend. Waverly sighed, goosebumps rippling slowly across every inch of her body as the firefighter glided the warm sponge over her back and her neck, squeezing occasionally to let trickles of heated water trail down over the brunette’s skin. 

Waverly was in heaven.

Or at least she would be, if she felt less like death warmed slowly.

She leaned back against Nicole, humming in approval as the redhead’s arms wrapped around her and she switched the soothe of the sponge to the brunette’s chest. Waverly moaned in disapproval as the redhead trailed the sponge over her shoulder, intending to move it down over her arm. She whined, pushing her girlfriend’s hand back toward the curves of her chest that had tingled under the touch.

"Someone's feeling better." Nicole chuckled.

Waverly grinned.

"Shut up and nurse me."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the fourteenth month of living with Nicole Haught, Waverly worked a little later than usual on a Friday night. Chrissy had begged for her help with something that was rather inexplicably urgent and apparently absolutely could not wait until Monday morning, though Waverly couldn’t for the life of her figure out what was so important about the mundane task. By the time she pulled her jeep into the driveway of her home, the late October evening was growing dark and she was feeling very ready to pour herself a glass of wine and crawl into her girlfriend’s arms.

Something felt strange even as her feet crunched over the gravel that led to the front door. Something intangible that made her stomach flip and her breathing fall a little harder as she slotted her key into the lock. Everything was quiet; calm somehow. The glaring hallway lights weren't on, yet a soft glow emanated through the small window in the door pane that felt somehow like magic, and a soft, contented kind of excitement wrapped its way around Waverly’s chest, even though she didn't really understand its source.

She pushed the door back slowly, almost as if somehow she could prolong the mysterious kind of magic. 

Her breath caught in her throat, her body tingling with nerves and elation.

The house was aglow with what looked like _hundreds_ of hanging tea lights, suspended from the ceiling by some wizardry that Waverly was far too entranced to decipher. She took a shaky step forward, her eyes misting in awe as they mapped the clear trail that the lights created; a path she was expected to follow. Another step, and her eyes were drawn below her, to the unusually soft tread beneath her feet. Petals lined the same trail that the lights drew, their shape unusual in the dim glow. Not roses?

No.

_Sunflowers._

Waverly giggled, her hand flying to her mouth in euphoric astonishment.

What was this _for?_

She exhaled shakily. 

_Was it…?_

Did she dare hope?

She grinned, her eyes blurred with misty traces of tears as she picked her way through the house, the sway of the hanging lights guiding her through the living room, into the kitchen. She fought her urges to run. To fly through the house until she found Nicole, _every_ petal and every light making her more and more desperate for her girlfriend’s warm eyes and her soft touch. But she fought the urge. She followed the orchestrated path as it wound, letting her chest fill more and more as she took each step. Finally, she followed the lights through the back door and into the garden.

She froze, her breath catching in a genuine gasp.

The whole backyard was alight with fairy lights, the effect glowing bright despite the darkened evening. Two lines of tall vases of sunflowers ran parallel to each other, creating a direct path that led Waverly’s trembling legs to the raised patio, and finally to the woman she was almost climbing out of her body to reach. 

Nicole was glowing. Mainly the lights, Waverly understood, but she was ecstatically willing to believe it was more than that. The redhead was stood before the patio, the flicker of the firepit and the incomprehensible number of fairy lights wreaking a downright beautiful chaos in her hair. She was in a suit, and really that was all the confirmation Waverly needed that this _ethereal_ experience was leading exactly where she was _really_ hoping it would be. Nicole beamed, her hands trembling with visible nerves as she pulled them from her pockets, reaching to pull her girlfriend’s fingers between her own.

Waverly sniffled. She leaned in, burying her face into her girlfriend’s chest. She needed to calm down. Nicole hadn’t uttered a single word, and the tears were already past any hope of stemming. She smiled softly as she felt soft lips kiss the top of her head.

“You okay, baby?” Nicole murmured, her breath ghosting through Waverly’s hair.

“Yeah…” Waverly leaned back, beaming widely as she found sparkling mocha eyes. She was pretty sure she knew, but she couldn't help but ask. “What’s all this?”

Nicole chuckled softly, her gaze dropping for a moment as she visibly collected her nerves, and Waverly melted. She gripped tightly onto Nicole’s hands, certain she would collapse without the touch. She bit her tongue, her _way_ too presumptuous answer fighting for its way out before the anticipated question had even formed on her girlfriend’s lips.

“Waverly, I…” Nicole’s eyes flicked up, fixing on Waverly’s as she spoke, her lips curling into the _softest_ smile the brunette had ever seen. “I’ve been back and forth in my mind for so long about how and where I wanted to do this, and nothing I could think of ever felt... _enough.”_

She blushed, the tremble beneath her voice endearing Waverly more than she could ever have imagined.

“Nothing felt grand enough, or _big_ enough, or-or _important_ enough to express how much I love you.” 

A particularly strangled sound made its way from Waverly’s throat, and Nicole chuckled, her eyes flickering in amusement. Waverly couldn’t even find it in herself to be embarrassed. This was the one moment in her life when it was _more_ than fine to be a complete, hopeless mess, and she was more than ready for Nicole to tear her whole world apart. Nicole’s fingers stroked nonsense patterns over the back of her hands as she continued.

“But then I watched you this morning. I watched you fluff the _copious_ numbers of god damn cushions on our bed _after_ I’d already made it, and then I watched you tear all your own clothes out of our drawers until you found _my_ shirt that you love so much.” Nicole grinned as Waverly gave a watery chuckle. “I watched you dance around our kitchen as you made us breakfast, and I watched you curse in three languages as you covered the entire counter in maple syrup, and...” 

Nicole took a deep breath. 

“And I realised that _everything_ is enough.” 

Waverly held her breath. She was pretty sure she might pass out, but she was too entranced to care.

“That just to be here with you at the house that brought us together… the house that we-we flirted in and pined _hopelessly_ over each other in.” Nicole grinned. “The house that we kissed in, that we… we _more_ than kissed in…” She winked and Waverly giggled, shaking her head in amusement. “The house that we fell in love in, and that I've fallen in love with you over again in every single day.”

Nicole shifted, trying to take a step back, and Waverly’s brow furrowed, her hands flying to the spread of the redhead’s jacket to hold her close.

“All of it is enough, Waverly, because it's _ours,_ and we are the best it gets."

Nicole tried to step back again, and Waverly gripped tighter.

What was she playing at?

She absolutely was _not_ allowed to move away from her right now.

Nicole laughed, halting her efforts for a moment longer.

"We're the best it gets and I want it forever.” Nicole’s voice was soft, low, and her eyes were so full of everything that Waverly was feeling that the brunette felt almost lost in them. “I want to spend forever doing everything in my power to make you feel as happy as I do when I’m with you.”

Waverly whimpered, her entire body protesting as Nicole grinned, prising her hands from the front of her shirt as she finally managed to step back. Her hand slipped to her pocket, and she dropped down onto one knee, her eyes shining as she watched Waverly’s face. 

_Oh._

Okay, that was allowed.

Oh _god_ , this was happening.

“Wave…”

Waverly’s heart was in her mouth, and her head was swimming. Every nerve in her body was on fire with anticipation and elation and giddy excitement, and just undeniable adoration for the woman she loved more than anything on the planet. She was trembling, and the shake of Nicole’s hand as it opened the tiny ring box told her she wasn’t the only one.

“Will you marry me?”

Waverly exhaled hard, her eyes creasing as her smile grew impossibly wide.

“How do you do this to me?” She whispered.

“Wh-what?” Nicole’s eyes widened, her lips quivering slightly with her nerves.

“How do you manage _every day_ to make me feel things that make the way I felt yesterday seem so small?”

Nicole huffed out a laugh, her eyes filling with tears that only made their sparkle brighter.

“I-is that a yes?”

 _“Yes,_ of _course.”_ Waverly giggled, dropping down to her knees in front of her new _fiancée._ “Of course I’ll marry you.”

She didn’t even wait for a response. She surged forward, claiming beaming lips the best she could in a deeply passionate kiss. She couldn’t contain herself, every emotion she had felt over the past fifteen minutes pouring from every nerve as she pushed into Nicole, the pressure eventually sending them tumbling backward onto the grass.

“Waverly…”

Nicole giggled, writhing beneath the brunette’s onslaught as she tried to extract herself, but Waverly was having none of it. She wrapped her legs around Nicole’s hips, her hands tugging at the redhead’s shirt as she chased her lips with her own. She squealed as Nicole pushed forward, somehow managing to hoist her up and place her seated on the edge of the patio, laughing openly as she knelt before her once again.

“The ring…” Nicole grinned, her eyes sparkling as she presented the box once more.

Waverly hadn’t even looked at it. She’d been so transfixed on Nicole, and her eyes and her dimples and her words, that she hadn’t even acknowledged the symbol of a promise that the redhead had held out for her. 

The tears flowed freely as she finally studied the silver band, and the slight twist of diamonds that met the sparkling stone in the centre. It was everything. Simple, elegant, beautiful, and _so_ clearly chosen with undeniable thought and care. She held back her shaky sobs, her eyes creasing so hard as she smiled that she could barely see the tremble of her hand as she held it out for Nicole to slide the ring into its place.

She bit her lip as she raised her hand, studying the ring in the glow of the light, before she surged forward once more, needing Nicole’s lips on her own to keep her breathing. She giggled into the kiss as she felt her fiancée sweep her into her arms, carrying her bridal style up onto the patio.

“Isn’t this meant to be for _after_ we get married?” Waverly quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh, sorry, is this better?” Nicole grinned, effortlessly spinning the brunette around into a fireman’s lift as Waverly squealed.

Waverly couldn’t stop her giddy giggles. She felt completely euphoric as Nicole placed her down gently on the corner couch beside the firepit, jumping immediately beside her and wrapping an arm over her thigh to hold her close.

“Hungry?” Nicole grinned, reaching to the table for a spring roll and throwing it gracelessly into her mouth.

“Chinese?” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah… figured later we could watch Flirty Dancing and cuddle.” Nicole wriggled her eyebrows, her grin teasing.

Waverly laughed.

“Anyone ever told you you’re ridiculous, Haught?”

“Ridiculously in love!” Nicole sang.

“That...” 

Waverly leaned forward, pulling her fiancée into a soft kiss. 

“Makes two of us.”


	14. Shit Fire and Save Matches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> So, I may have had a surge of inspiration for this fic, and I have produced the plans for an additional three chapters 😊
> 
> I guess it may never *really* be complete 😉😂
> 
> As before, they're planned out but I'm posting as I write, so there's no definitive posting schedule. 
> 
> Here's hoping people are still out there and wanting to check in on this one!
> 
> Lots of love!

“But look how _pretty_ it is!”

Waverly pushed the magazine nearer to Nicole’s face, as if somehow a closer proximity to the page would change the redhead’s mind on the beauty of the contents.

“Baby, it’s a chair.”

“It’s all in the _small_ details, Nicole," Waverly whined, shaking the magazine slightly in her frustration. "Don’t you _want_ our wedding to be beautiful?”

“Of course I do, baby, but I just don’t understand why we need to spend a small fortune on chair covers.” Nicole raised an eyebrow as she slowly pushed the magazine away from her face, her voice _irritatingly_ calm and reasonable. “I honestly could not tell you what a single chair looked like at any wedding that I have ever been to. Ever.”

Waverly pouted.

Nicole sighed.

“Look, I just think we should save money where we can, and spend a little more on the honeymoon.” She smirked, pushing her chair back as she moved to stand behind Waverly. She leaned down, wrapping her arms around her fiancée as she let her lips ghost the brunette’s ear. "You, me, sand, sea… that black bikini of yours, and a few pina coladas? Doesn't that sound like a _much_ better use of our money than forty chair covers that we won't even sit on?”

“Hmmm.” Waverly smirked as she turned her head, her hand reaching behind her to tangle into red hair. She tugged, pulling her fiancée's lips just millimetres from her own. “But wouldn’t that just be _so_ much more romantic if _you_ were in your new wife’s good books for letting her plan her dream wedding? I'll make it _well_ worth your while...”

Nicole chuckled, shaking her head as she pulled back. Her jaw was still tight, but the twinkle in her eyes told Waverly she'd won. She grinned.

"Is that a yes?"

Nicole rolled her eyes.

"I'm _sure_ I used to have self control." She smirked. "Whatever happened to _that_ woman?"

Waverly turned to face her, wrapping her arms around the redhead’s neck.

"Something about painted walls and hardwood floors and an irresistible mouth..." Waverly grinned, wriggling her eyebrows. 

_"Smile,_ Waverly Earp." Nicole laughed. "An irresistible _smile._ Although..." 

She grinned, trailing off as she connected her lips with Waverly’s in a lingering kiss. The brunette deepened it instantly, tangling her hands in red hair once more as Nicole moaned softly in surprise. She pushed backwards, smirking into the kiss as Nicole sank back into her chair, firm hands over her thighs tugging Waverly effortlessly onto her lap.

Waverly groaned, heat prickling over her skin almost instantly as she rolled her hips into Nicole’s, the redhead’s hands slipping over her ass to encourage the slow grind.

Until the front door slammed.

They jumped, Nicole yelping into the broken kiss as she shot her hands up to Waverly's waist. The brunette groaned in frustration, pressing her forehead against her fiancée’s as the sound of heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway. 

She _really_ needed to confiscate her sister's key.

 _"So,_ who won then?" Wynonna leaned casually against the doorframe, twirling her damn key around her finger in some kind of god forsaken taunt.

"Huh?" Waverly furrowed her brows, blinking as she fought to process her sister's question.

"You're being all _fifty shades of gay_ so clearly you're not fighting over me. Which _means…_ " Wynonna grinned, throwing herself down onto a chair and immediately hoisting her feet up onto the table. "You're ready to tell me whose bridal party I get to head up?"

Waverly grinned, flicking her eyes to Nicole’s for the briefest of moments. The redhead nodded subtly, the corners of her lips twitching in a knowing smirk.

 _"Well,_ we've discussed it at length…" Waverly turned back to her sister.

They hadn't. They hadn't needed to. They'd always known the answer, really. 

"And we have _decided…_ " Nicole continued, amusement dancing in mocha eyes as she dragged out her words, deliberately keeping the older Earp waiting. 

Wynonna raised her eyebrows, circling her hand in the air in a gesture of impatience.

Waverly paused. Deliberately. 

Just to be obtuse.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes.

 _"Both!"_ Waverly grinned.

Wynonna’s brow furrowed for a moment, her eyes flickering with confusion. 

"Wh… _really?"_

"Yep." Waverly beamed. "We figure we're bucking tradition enough as it is, might as well carry on. You're _my_ Maid of Honour…"

"And you're _my_ Best… Person." Nicole grinned. "You're _definitely_ not helping me pee."

"Wait wait wait…" Wynonna’s eyes widened, her jaw bobbing slightly as she processed the information. "So I'm like… the _Best Maid?"_

Waverly giggled. She'd known her sister would be excited, but she had _not_ expected the high pitched sounds that were making their way into the tone of her voice now. She nodded gleefully, hearing Nicole chuckle beside her. 

"Oh my god, I cannot _wait_." Wynonna dropped her feet to the floor, jumping up in a clumsy movement that shook the table beneath them. "Your Bachelorettes are gonna be _so_ awesome, I have _so_ much to do."

Waverly’s heart sank.

_Shit._

This had been the bit she had _not_ been looking forward to. She took a deep breath, exchanging a pained glance with Nicole.

"Wy…"

Her whispered efforts fell on deaf ears. Wynonna was far too animated. 

"I have been waiting for this almost my entire life, I have _so_ many ideas, I…" Wynonna paced the kitchen, her cheeks flushed in her excitement.

 _"Wynonna!"_ Waverly tried again, a little _too_ loud this time.

Wynonna halted, her smile faltering as her wide eyes searched her sister's face. Waverly winced.

"Wy, Chrissy is planning my Bachelorette," she whispered. 

There was a long pause.

Too long.

"Oh." 

Wynonna’s face fell, and she picked absently at the sleeves of her leather jacket as she nodded slowly. 

Waverly’s stomach dropped, and she felt Nicole stiffen beside her. She sighed, offering a small smile as she held her sister's gaze.

"We just figured that you would have enough to do helping us with the wedding, and I wanted Chrissy to have a role too, and…"

"Hey, I get it." Wynonna waved her hand in dismissal, the dejection seemingly instantly forgotten as she turned her attention to Nicole. _"This_ just means Haughtstuff will get all my amazing ideas."

Oh no.

Waverly’s heart sank. This was not good. In every conversation that the two had held about the Bachelorettes, Nicole had been outrightly insistent that she didn't want one. That they were just not her scene. That the tradition was tired, and she didn't need _'one last night of freedom'_ because Waverly wasn't a chain.

Waverly sighed.

"Actually, Wy…" She started. "Nic said she doesn't really want to _have_ a _…"_

"A stripper!" Nicole yelped, her foot nudging firmly against Waverly’s beneath the table to halt her. "I said I don't want to have a _stripper._ So strike that off your list Earp."

Waverly blinked. She furrowed her brow in question, searching her fiancée’s wide eyes for an explanation. Nicole shrugged, smiling sheepishly as she nodded her head subtly in Wynonna’s direction.

Waverly melted.

"But…" Wynonna hesitated, her eyes flicking between the two. "You _do_ want me to plan it?"

"Who else?" Nicole nodded, her dimples popping in that charming grin that still made Waverly’s knees weak.

 _"Yes!"_ Wynonna whooped, clapping the redhead across the shoulders. "Buckle up Haughty, this is gonna be the _best_ night of your life!" 

Wynonna pulled her phone from her pocket, tapping away furiously as she turned wordlessly, and stomped back down the hallway toward the door.

"Dude, you _just_ got here!" Nicole chuckled as she called after her.

"Yes, but _now_ I have some calls to make!" Wynonna shouted, whooping once more as she slammed the door closed behind her.

Nicole grinned, shaking her head fondly as she turned back to face her fiancée. 

Waverly sighed. How was she _still_ falling more in love every day?

"Holy _fuck,_ I love you, Haught."

Nicole beamed as mocha eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushing at the reverence in the brunette’s tone.

"I love you too! Are you okay baby?"

Waverly hummed, running her hands over her fiancée’s chest as she straddled her lap, wanting nothing more than to pick up where they had left off.

"I know you didn't want this," Waverly murmured, running her fingers gently over the redhead’s cheek. "I know that was for my sister. Thank you."

"It was also for my best friend." Nicole shrugged shyly, her lips curled into a soft smile. "It's one night. How bad can it be?"

"The best night of your life, apparently." Waverly giggled. "Now, wife-to-be, please take me upstairs. I need to give that at least a _little_ competition."

"Baby…" Nicole smirked, effortlessly hoisting Waverly’s legs around her waist as she pulled herself to her feet. "As if _anything_ could ever compete with you."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

"Baby you have to leave in…" Waverly flicked her eyes to the clock on the bedside table. _"Thirteen_ minutes, and you still haven't picked an outfit!"

Nicole whined, throwing her head back as she stamped her foot.

"I don't _want_ to." 

Waverly bit back a giggle. She knew her fiancée was playing up her petulance, but the slight quiver of her bottom lip betrayed her genuine reluctance to leave, and the brunette wasn't sure she had ever seen anything so adorable.

Waverly was already sprawled on the bed in her comfiest PJs, her favourite book spread open in front of her. She had had her Bachelorette party the previous weekend while Nicole had been at work, and now it was her fiancée's turn. Or it would be, in thirteen minutes from now.

And Nicole was in a towel.

"Do I _really_ have to go?" She flopped onto the bed beside Waverly, her puppy dog eyes working in full force. She groaned. "You look so _cute_ and _comfy_ and I can almost see your ass through those pants."

Waverly grinned, raising her eyebrows as she rolled to face her fiancée. She couldn't help but love the way that Nicole wanted her, even in her threadbare PJs that she refused to throw away. She'd been worried that this would fade; that their love would stay but that their fire would dwindle over time. So far she had been proven wrong, time and time again. 

Most days, in fact. Sometimes twice. 

When Nicole’s shifts allowed, of course.

She hummed, pulling the redhead into a heated kiss. She traced her hand over the band of Nicole’s towel, tugging at the material until it fell free. Nicole moaned softly as the cool air hit her skin.

Waverly pulled back, smirking cockily as the firefighter chased her lips.

 _"Go_ and put your suit on." She grinned, pushing Nicole back with a palm against her chest. "Wynonna's been planning this for _months,_ and she'll murder us both if you don’t show up."

 _"Ugh!"_ Nicole pouted, though the corners of her lips twitched in the telltale signs of her surrender. She winked as she hauled herself off of the bed. _"Fine."_

Waverly's stomach flipped. Something in those twinkling eyes was _far_ too mischievous, and Waverly dreaded to think what was sparking that fire. She was all too aware by now that it _always_ meant trouble. Of the very best kinds.

As she watched her fiancée dress, Waverly became starkly aware of _exactly_ why those playful eyes had been so cocky.

She had forgotten what this suit _did_ to her.

The way the dark material sat tight against those soft curves, and the way the crisp shirt sat just _one_ button too low. The air of power and authority that Nicole seemed to exude as soon as the cufflinks were pushed through. 

Yeah, this was a _major_ weak spot.

And Nicole knew it.

“On second thoughts…” Waverly moved herself up to the edge of the bed, wriggling her eyebrows playfully as she tugged Nicole closer by the spread of her blazer. “Maybe you’re coming down with something. You do feel a little… _Haught.”_

Nicole laughed openly, shaking her head in mock disdain.

“Well _that...”_ She leaned down, connecting her lips with Waverly’s in a soft kiss. "Was fucking dreadful." She grinned. "I can hear tyres on the gravel, babe. I have to go."

Waverly pouted.

Nicole chuckled, biting down on the brunette's lower lip in a reversal of roles that only deepened Waverly’s desire for her to stay.

“I love you,” Nicole murmured, kissing the brunette once more. “I’ll miss you. And those pants.”

Waverly giggled. 

“Have fun, gorgeous. Stay safe. And no parkour!”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Nicole relaxed immediately as the Bachelorette group entered the low lit bar. The walls were exposed brickwork, adorned throughout with plush red curtains and oil lanterns, and surprisingly tasteful candelabras hung suspended from the relatively low ceiling. The reds and the subtle blues of the lighting were inviting somehow without feeling brash or invasive. The bar was lined with rounded booths, their open sides facing out to a circular stage in the centre of the room, and the venue host led them to one reading _'Haught Stuff's Bachelorette'_ across the reservation card in delicate calligraphy print. 

As Nicole settled herself back into her seat, she was particularly grateful to Waverly for the suggestion that she wear her suit. The party were all dressed in formal wear, and the fine lines and the sharp cut of the charcoal material made the redhead feel at home amongst the 1920s style surroundings.

Or rather, she _would,_ if she wasn't wearing a garish Bride-to-Be sash over her torso, and a headband with rubber boobs bouncing from each antenna. 

She supposed really, that she should just be grateful that they weren't penises. 

By 11pm, Nicole had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised with her evening. The host had introduced an extensive jazz show with musicians and dancers, and the group had gorged themselves on a three course meal. Nicole had almost expected Wynonna to simply drag her to a strip club and ply her with booze, and so she couldn't help but feel an unexpected surge of love for her best friend for planning something that was actually in her interest. The food was amazing, the entertainment had been fantastic, and Nicole was having a _really_ great time.

As the last of the show's performances drew to its end and the house DJ took to the stage to begin the evening's after party, Nicole found herself well on the way to intoxicated, and tripping over her own feet as Wynonna dragged her enthusiastically through a doorway to the side of the main stage, the rest of the party hot on their heels.

The small room was empty, the low lighting bluer than the main venue had been, and Nicole blinked as her dazed mind tried to process the change in atmosphere. Plush chairs, chaise lounges and low stools lay in seemingly sporadic clusters around the room, leaving a kind of weaving, spotlit pathway through the seating. 

"Wynonna, what is this?"

 _"This…"_ Wynonna grinned devilishly as she pushed Nicole into a velvet cushioned chair. "Is a little gift from me to you. Enjoy, Haughty."

Nicole’s stomach dropped.

For the love of everything sapphic, she _really_ hoped this wasn't what she thought it was.

The room around them began to fill with curls of soft smoke, and a low, smooth jazz beat kicked to life. Nicole's skin prickled instantly with nerves and the telltale sweat of anxiety, and she gripped the edges of her seat to ground herself. The smoke and the lighting were making her buzzed mind feel drunker, and she felt a little nauseous.

Oh, _god._

She really, _really_ wasn’t interested in a stripper.

She opened her mouth to say as much. To tell Wynonna that she wanted to leave. To tell her she didn't _want_ to sit and watch the gyrating moves of any woman but Waverly. But before the words could form on her tongue, a gravelly, almost whispered husk of a voice sounded out above the music, introducing _Frosti Winter_ as their dancer for the evening.

Nicole froze.

Well, fuck.

She shrank back into her seat, recoiling instinctively as the dancer entered the room. The lack of a definitive stage felt uncomfortably intimate as the woman moved among the seats, blue spotlights and shimmers of smoke bouncing from the sequins of her corset. 

Nicole felt sick.

The dancer was… _probably_ attractive? She just had _nothing_ on Waverly, and every time she swung her hips all Nicole could think about was the way Waverly’s rolled whenever she put on that one playlist that _always_ meant that Nicole was being teased to within an inch of her life. The dancer threw a cheeky wink in Nicole’s direction as she lowered herself into the splits.

Nicole blanched.

“What’s the matter, Haughty?" Wynonna stage whispered, grinning smugly as she leaned over the gap between their seats. "Frosti not doing it for you?”

Nicole scoffed.

“Dude, I don’t _need_ a stripper. I’m marrying _Waverly_ fucking _Earp_ , and she is the damn _queen_ of lapdances," she hissed. “And _why_ does the stripper have a drag queen name?”

"It's a _burlesque_ name!" Wynonna slapped her palm across the back of Nicole’s head. "She is a _dancer._ And please _never_ speak of my sister's lapdances again."

"I might never _get_ your sister's lapdances again if I go home covered in _Chloe Mydia's_ body glitter!" Nicole gritted her teeth, raising her voice as much as she could in a whisper. "And I _told_ you I didn't _want_ a stripper!"

"For the last time, she's a _burlesque dancer!_ Lighten up, Haught, I'm not asking you to skip off into the sunset with Frosti Winter, I'm just telling you to watch a sexy woman twirl some nipple tassles!"

“I don't _want_ to!" Nicole shot back, her face flushed with her embarrassment and her frustration. "My fiancée is a gazillion times sexier than _Alma D. Zeases_ , and I'm _pissed_ at you right now!”

“Nicole Haught, _stop_ shaming the dancer!" Wynonna slapped her again. "What has she ever done to you?”

"Nothing, and she's not _going_ to!" Nicole yanked the sash from her torso, grunting as she wrestled the fabric over a flailing Wynonna’s head. _"You_ can be her victim."

 _"Fine!"_ Wynonna snapped, relenting as she pulled the sash into position. "Your loss."

Nicole exhaled slowly, her shoulders dropping slightly as she sat back in her seat.

 _"Thank_ you. And yes, I'm sorry, I'm sure she's very clean, and it's a very respectable job, and this is _your_ fault, not hers!" She rolled her eyes, her tone a little softer. "But I still do _not_ want to touch her vajazzles!"

"You don't _have_ to _touch_ them!" Wynonna scoffed. "In fact I'm pretty sure that's _assault!"_

Nicole sighed as her friend turned her attention back to the dancer. She was _completely_ out of her element here. She had no idea how to sit, no idea what to do with her hands, and _no_ idea where to look. She sank down in her chair, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with Frosti Winter as she pulled her phone out, firing a slightly frantic text to Waverly.

Nicole: _I'm so sorry baby, Wynonna hired a stripper._

Nicole: _I didn’t want one, I swear._

Nicole: _I don’t like it! I don't know where to look._

The reply was almost instant, and the tightness in Nicole’s chest eased instantly as her fiancée’s name crossed her screen.

Waverly: _Relax baby, it's okay! I really think it's more for Wynonna anyway ;) x_

Nicole grinned, her shoulders dropping a little as her fiancée’s words ebbed at her panic. It never failed to amaze her just how deeply Waverly understood and trusted her, and how she seemed to know exactly what Nicole needed to hear at any given time. 

She relaxed back into her chair, the anxious butterflies settling.

It was fine. This was fine. She just wouldn’t look at the dancer! She’d keep her wits about her, and if she stayed clearly disinterested, then maybe Frosti would focus her efforts on the other girls and not her. She glanced up, scanning her eyes quickly around the room to check on the woman’s whereabouts.

She tensed immediately, her stomach lurching into her throat as she met Frosti Winter’s direct gaze. Nicole blinked, her breath caught in her throat as the dancer smirked, biting down on her lower lip as she tugged slowly at the lace binding her deep red corset. Nicole swallowed thickly, dropping her eyes back to her phone screen. Her panic trembled once more in her fingers as she tapped out her message.

Nicole: _She’s looking at me! She's gonna get naked, I don’t want her to get naked, Waverly!!!_

The soft slap of material against the hardwood floor made Nicole jump, every muscle tensing and a strained sound of terror squeaking in her throat as the wired fabric of the dancer’s corset landed at her feet. She shot her gaze up in terror, her eyes widening as they landed on bare breasts covered only by heart shaped, sequinned nipple tassels.

Then they began to spin.

Nicole slammed her eyes shut.

She needed to calm down. It was _fine._

Frosti would get bored. She _would._ Wynonna’s whoops and cheers would distract her. She’d leave Nicole alone if the redhead just didn’t make eye contact!

She exhaled slowly, turning her body slightly away from the dancer as she returned her efforts to her phone screen.

Nicole: _She's got her boobs out. Nipple tassels!!!_

Nicole: _Baby help me!_

Waverly: _Nic you're allowed to enjoy your night! Just… don't touch, don't let her touch you, and come home to me at the end ;) x_

Nicole: _I don't wanna look at another woman's boobs, I'm scared! I only want your boobs._

Waverly: _…these ones?_

Nicole froze. 

The words captioned an image that clenched immediately in her core. The top of the screen ran along the faded lettering of Nicole’s Fire Department t-shirt. The material was pushed up, the hem of the shirt cradling the curves at the top of Waverly's bare breasts. The brunette’s hand closed tight around one, a hardened nipple caught visibly between her fingers. The line of tanned abs could _just_ be seen disappearing out of the shot, and Nicole found herself dragging the screen fruitlessly in an effort to see more. 

The dancer was forgotten instantly.

Nicole: _Fuck._

Nicole: _Yes. Those._

Nicole: _God you're so sexy._

Waverly: _I’ve been so turned on ever since you left. I haven't stopped thinking about you in that suit._

Another image filled Nicole’s screen. The shot was lower this time; Waverly’s toned abs on full display. The image cut off over the curves of the brunette’s bare thighs, displaying the visibly wet material of grey cotton panties, Waverly’s hand pushed into them. Nicole bit back a growl, her grip tightening on her phone as she felt the first burn of arousal sear across her skin.

Nicole: _Holy shit, baby, are you trying to kill me?_

Waverly: _Just reminding you what you have at home ;)_

Nicole: _As if I need it. I'm coming home._

Waverly: _No you absolutely are not. You're gonna stay there and enjoy your strip tease ;)_

The final image was too much for Nicole. She whimpered softly, her thighs clenching instinctively as deep flames of arousal sparked low in her belly. Waverly’s reflection filled her screen, her full body displayed in the mirror opposite their bed. Darkened, hooded eyes stared straight into Nicole’s core, and full lips were parted in undeniable pleasure. Waverly’s back arched, her breasts pushed out toward the mirror, and her legs were spread wide. One hand held her phone as she snapped the shot, whilst the other slipped two fingers either side of her visibly swollen clit. 

Nicole’s blood burned in her veins.

_Fuck._

She was uncomfortably wet. Her fiancée had ruined her so hard, and so fast, and so unexpectedly, and really in the _least_ convenient of places. She bit her lip, holding her breath in fear that somehow the oxygen she breathed would stoke the flames in her bloodstream, and the heat would consume her entirely.

Until the unexpected brush of feather passed over her flushed skin.

 _"Shit_ _fire and save matches!"_

Nicole yelped, dropping her phone with an audible clatter as she shot her eyes up to find the source.

She recoiled, scrambling desperately to free herself from the feather boa draped seductively around her neck, and the alarmingly sudden, alarmingly close proximity of Frosti Winter.

It happened _so_ fast.

Nicole couldn’t even really be sure how.

One moment she was trapped in a feather prison, her face just inches from the spinning tassels of sequin covered nipples, and the next she was sprawled across the floor amongst her upturned chair and a plethora of black and gold plumes.

She didn't even stop to take stock.

She grabbed frantically at the bright light of her phone, shoving it haphazardly into her pocket as she jumped to her feet and ran. She was aware somewhere in her mind of the rest of her party cackling loudly behind her, but all she could think about was getting her face and the undeniable pool of arousal between her legs as far from Frosti Winter, and as close to her gorgeous fiancée as was possible in that moment.

Her mind swam unbearably as she slammed and locked the bathroom cubicle shut behind her. She exhaled slowly, pressing her spinning forehead firmly against the hard wood of the door, as if somehow that could stabilise the dizzy haze of alcohol, adrenaline and arousal that coursed through her.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't frustrated that the bar's bathroom held multiple cubicles, because frankly, Waverly had worked her into a complete and utter state and she knew she wasn't leaving here until she came. _Hard._ Which meant, unfortunately, that she would have to be quiet.

She smirked as she fished her phone out of her pocket, pulling the latest image from Waverly back up onto the screen. She felt emboldened here, away from the smoke and the music and the sequins and the tassels, and she figured it was high time she had a little fun of her own. Waverly had gone to some considerable effort to turn Nicole on, and she figured maybe the brunette deserved to know just how well she had succeeded.

She fumbled slightly with the button of her slacks, alcohol and anticipation making her fingers a little less sure. She pushed the zipper down, pulling the material apart far enough to expose the lace of the panties she wore beneath them. She slipped her fingers beneath the waistband, circling them over her clit and the copious amounts of arousal that already awaited her touch. Her head rolled back against the door in relief as she felt every nerve in her body jump to attention. 

Biting down hard on her lip to hold her groans of frustration, she pulled her fingers back, leaving them half visible as she positioned and snapped her photo with her free hand.

The result showed her visibly wet fingers slipping just below the waistband of her panties, the soft curves of her stomach trailing off of the edge of the screen.

She smirked, typing out the accompanying response to her teasing fiancée. 

Nicole: _I don't think I can_. _You made this mess, and only you can fix it._

The dots appeared immediately, indicating that Waverly was responding. Then they stopped. Nicole held her breath until they started again. Waverly seemed to rethink her words no less than three times before giving up, her name vibrating across the screen in an incoming call. Nicole bit her lip, chuckling as she slid the icon to answer.

“Hey, baby.”

"Nic…"

_Shit._

Nicole’s eyes fluttered closed, her core clenching hard at the sound of her name on the soft husk of Waverly’s voice. She exhaled slowly, leaning her head back against the cubicle door.

"You're torturing me, Wave." 

"Where are you?"

"Bathroom." Nicole’s voice was hoarse, words almost unbearable in the tightness of her chest and the dryness of her mouth.

"Alone?" Waverly murmured. There was an edge of knowing confidence in her tone that did _nothing_ for Nicole’s composure. 

"For now."

"Stay there. You're not running out on your own Bachelorette…" 

There was a _but._ Nicole could hear it. She held her breath, her fingers gripping tight around her phone and the open waistband of her slacks as she waited.

"But maybe I can help… tide you over." 

Nicole could _hear_ the smug smirk in Waverly’s voice, and she swallowed thickly. This woman knew exactly how to ruin her, and the anticipation alone had her pulse thumping in her ears.

"Yeah?" She whispered, blushing immediately at the telltale tremble in her voice. Waverly knew her better than anybody, and Nicole knew full well that her fiancée would see _straight_ through the break in her voice and know _exactly_ what she was doing to her.

"If you want to, of course," Waverly hummed.

Nicole huffed out a soft laugh. As if there was any question. She was locked in a bathroom cubicle, her chest heaving and her hand hovering on the waistband of undeniably soaked underwear, barely able to form a coherent thought that wasn’t how badly she needed her fiancée. She might have been embarrassed, but she’d been wet since Waverly’s first image, and the haze of alcohol was only making her more needy. 

_"_ Wave, _please…"_ she husked.

"I've been thinking about you all night, Nic,” Waverly murmured. “The things I want to do to you. The things I want you to do to me." 

The low tone of Waverly’s voice was so thick, so _heated,_ that Nicole could feel each word ripple across her skin, raising goosebumps in their wake. The words were interspersed with gentle gasps, and soft, barely-there moans, and Nicole’s mind raced with visions of the things her fiancée’s fingers were doing to elicit the sounds. She slipped her own hand back over her clit, beginning to trace the patterns that she knew that Waverly liked the most. She wanted to feel what the brunette was feeling. To imagine that she was the one bringing her fiancée pleasure.

"Touch yourself for me, baby." Waverly’s voice was soft, but the demand was clear. 

"I am," Nicole groaned, her tone thick with the gravel of arousal. "What were you thinking about, Wave?" 

Nicole bit her lip in anticipation. She knew that Waverly would know exactly which path to take. That the brunette knew that the real height of Nicole’s arousal came from Waverly’s own pleasure. That she loved nothing more than to hear what turned her fiancée on, and to listen to the sounds of her unabashed pleasure. 

"I’ve been touching myself all night thinking about you, Nic,” Waverly husked. “Slow. Teasing. The way that I want _you_ to tease me. I want you to take _complete_ control. I want you to tie me to the bed, I want you to blindfold me, and I want to feel you _everywhere._ I want you to make me beg." 

Nicole knew she didn’t need long. Those _words_ and that _voice,_ combined with the quickening movements of her fingers over her clit had her shuddering, her hips bucking against her own touch. She bit hard on her lip, fighting desperately to hold back her moans as Waverly’s lust-filled voice continued to work its magic. 

"I can almost feel you now, Nic. The way you touch me _so_ lightly, until I’m trembling. Until I’m desperate.” Waverly groaned, long and low. “ _Ugh_ , baby I wish these fingers were yours."

 _"Waves…"_ Nicole whimpered. She knew she needed to be quiet, but her mind swam with thoughts of the things that Waverly was doing. She knew her fiancée was deliberately holding herself back; deliberately simulating the soft, teasing touches that the redhead used when she wanted Waverly to beg her; deliberately making her own touch feel like Nicole’s. The thought was too much, and Nicole felt almost dizzy with her need. _“God,_ I want…”

"Sshh baby," Waverly hummed. "I know you need to be quiet. Just let me take care of you."

The words melted over Nicole’s skin, silken honey through her veins, and she could feel the heat of it searing in her bones, bringing her closer to her climax. She pressed back against the cubicle door; a physical brace against the whimpers and the moans that fought their way from her chest. She circled her fingers faster over her clit, feeling her spine tighten almost immediately. If she was honest, she knew it didn’t really matter _what_ Waverly said anymore. The brunette’s moans and the husk of her voice would do it for her.

"Then, when I can’t take any more of your teasing, baby, I want you to take me to pieces. I want you to fuck me until I'm shaking. Until I'm begging you to make me come. _Fuck,_ baby I'm so close. You feel so good. You're so fucking _good_ with your tongue." Waverly groaned, the sound deeper and more carnal than it had been yet, and Nicole couldn’t hold back her own responding growl. " _God,_ the way you feel when you lose control. When you _devour_ me. When you moan against my clit. When your fingers curl against that _one_ spot that you find _every_ time. I can feel you hitting it now, baby, you feel so fucking good."

 _"Fuck,_ Waves…" Nicole growled. She couldn’t hold back anymore, her location forgotten in her desperate desire to hear her fiancée’s climax. “Come for me, baby.” 

"I'm going to," Waverly whimpered. "Fuck, _Nic,_ I'm gonna come. You’re gonna make me come."

Waverly’s moans were so loud, so unbridled, and the heat behind them made Nicole’s head spin. She pressed harder on her own clit, as if somehow she could chase her fiancée’s orgasm with her own fingers. She could feel her thighs trembling, the coil tightening around the base of her spine as every muscle tensed in pleasure.

" _Yes,_ Nic, I'm coming for you,” Waverly sobbed, her pitch strained and her words broken. " _Fuck_ I love you, _shit,_ I'm… _oh…"_

Nicole moaned loudly, tears prickling in her eyes as she fought to hold her shaking muscles upright. She pressed her hips hard against her hand, heated waves of pleasure wracking her body as her own orgasm crashed over her.

Waverly's heated words and her broken moans gave way to soft gasps and pants, Nicole's own breaths matching the brunette’s as they both came down from their shared high.

Nicole couldn’t help but giggle, the alcohol and the orgasm leaving her giddy. She grinned widely as she heard Waverly chuckle.

"You okay?" Waverly murmured. 

_"So_ much." Nicole grinned. "You're incredible, Waverly Earp."

"That's you." 

There was a long moment of blissed silence, filled only by the gradual slowing of heaving chests.

Then Nicole would _swear_ she could hear a cheeky grin spread across her fiancée’s face.

"Now, Haught...” Waverly's mischievous tone only confirmed Nicole’s suspicions. “Get back out there, suck it up, put a twenty in your stripper's underwear, and don't come home until you've done a Bachelorette the way a Bachelorette should be done." 

Nicole laughed openly, nodding her head despite the fact that she knew that Waverly couldn't see her.

"And when you do come home," Waverly whispered, "I'll be waiting for you."

Nicole sighed, her stomach flipping.

"God, I love you, Earp."

"I love you too, baby."

By the time Nicole had composed herself and made her way back into the lights and the music, Wynonna and the group had left the small room and were propping up the main bar. Nicole breathed a sigh of relief to see no sign of a sequinned, tasseled dancer anywhere. 

With the small exception of the black and gold feather boa wrapped around Wynonna’s neck.

Nicole was greeted with a chorus of whoops and cheers, and Wynonna threw her arm clumsily around the redhead’s shoulders as she thrust a wooden tray of disgusting looking shots along the bar.

Nicole grimaced.

Wynonna raised an eyebrow. 

Nicole sighed defeatedly.

She gingerly lifted one of the glasses and brought it tentatively to her lips, throwing back the burning liquid. She shuddered as the sharp taste hit her tongue.

Wynonna looked at her expectantly, nodding toward the tray.

"Another one?" Nicole frowned.

"All of them."

Nicole balked.

"Absolutely not." She shook her head, her hands held up in refusal.

"Absolutely yes." Wynonna nodded her head, grinning as she lifted a second shot glass and pushed it into Nicole’s hand. "This is your punishment for running out on poor Frosti to go phone fuck my sister on the _one_ night you should be letting loose and partying."

 _"What?"_ Nicole spluttered, her stomach dropping and her face flushing with embarrassment. "I was not… I did _not…_ how did you…?"

 _"Please,_ you’ve got a sickening grin on your face and your cheeks are still as red as your hair."

Nicole blinked.

Well, she was rumbled anyway. Might as well have her fun. She smirked.

"In my defense dude, I didn't _start_ it. I can hardly be blamed when she sends me pictures of her…"

Wynonna slapped a hand over Nicole’s mouth, cutting her words off in a muffled strain.

 _"_ Stop talking _immediately_ and drink your nasty shots."

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly woke at 3am to the sound of hushed giggles and irregular thumps in the hallway. She grinned, shaking her head fondly as she heard her fiancée’s voice ring out, its volume clear as day despite its whispered tone.

"We have to be _quiet!_ Waverly is sleeping!"

"I _am_ being quiet." Wynonna’s voice was even louder. "I'm _so_ quiet, _you_ don't even know I'm here."

Waverly chuckled, pulling herself groggily out of bed and throwing on her robe and her slippers. By the sounds of it, she was gonna need to intervene.

As always.

She padded out into the hallway, biting back her laughter as she emerged just ahead of her fiancée and her sister, fruitlessly trying to hold each other up as they stumbled through the house, colliding frequently with the walls of the hallway in their efforts to remain upright.

“Listen… listen…” Wynonna halted, pressing both hands to the front of Nicole’s shoulders to prop her up as she tried to make eye contact. “Don’t tell Waverly this, but…”

Waverly rolled her eyes.

“Wy, I’m literally _right_ here," she chuckled. 

“Sssshhh." 

Wynonna waved a dismissive hand loosely in Waverly’s direction, and Nicole blinked, her brow furrowed as she stared at her friend in confusion.

Waverly quirked an eyebrow, biting her cheek to hold her amusement.

 _Clearly_ this was worse than she thought. 

"Don’t tell Waverly, but I’m _really_ glad that we found you, Haught.”

Waverly’s chest swelled.

This was new.

"You are?" Nicole’s eyes widened, her blown pupils visible even in the dim light of the hallway.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to Waverly.” Wynonna shrugged, her eyes more earnest than Waverly could remember seeing them in years.

Nicole grinned; a slow, lopsided grin that somehow only served to make her look _more_ gone. Waverly giggled.

 _“She’s_ the best thing that ever happened to _me.”_ Nicole smiled softly, her eyes drifting for a moment as she seemed to consider her words. “Sometimes I think you might be, too.”

Waverly melted. She couldn't explain it. _Somehow_ her two half-cut idiots had managed to bring the sting of tears to her eyes at 3am in the morning whilst _completely_ ignoring her existence.

Or, in Nicole’s case, completely failing to even _register_ it.

She had never loved either of them more.

She shook her head softly, leaning against her doorframe as she watched the ridiculous exchange.

“I never had a best friend before you.” Wynonna whispered, her eyes dropping shyly to the floor. “And you’re the best of them."

"You're pretty good too, Earp." 

Nicole beamed, and Wynonna scoffed, shoving her lightly with the palm of her hand. The redhead swayed precariously for a moment, and Waverly held her breath.

"Even if you do fuck my sister, which I'm pretty sure breaks _all_ the bro codes.” Wynonna retorted, screwing her face into a disdainful grimace.

Nicole smirked, that mischievous glint sparkling even through the dull haze of drunken eyes. She opened her mouth to speak.

Waverly intervened.

 _“And_ I think I'll take it from here.”

 _"Hey,_ baby, where did _you_ come from?" Nicole hiccuped. 

Waverly rolled her eyes.

It was 3:45am by the time Waverly finally managed to wrestle Nicole’s suit from her leaden limbs, and practically hurl her into their bed. She climbed in behind her, curling her small frame around her fiancée's spreadeagled body. She grinned as she heard Nicole hum contentedly.

“You okay, beautiful?” She whispered into the darkness. 

_“Yeah.”_ Nicole sighed. "I cannot _wait_ to be your wife, Waverly Earp."


	15. I Want it Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for coming back to this fic, and for making the new additions feel worthwhile!
> 
> Diabetics beware, this one's sickly sweet! 😂
> 
> Love you!!

Waverly was in a sulk.

It was completely her own fault. She knew it was, and she hated her stupid self and her stupid planning and this _stupid_ decision that had left her alone and missing Nicole. 

Stupid tradition. Why had she wanted to follow it anyway?

Nicole had protested from the start, telling her that the tradition was unnecessary; that she wasn't a 17th century bridegroom forbidden from seeing his new bride for fear she be mutton dressed in a wig and a petticoat _,_ and she _wanted_ to spend the night before her wedding with the love of her life.

But Waverly had insisted. Some whimsical bullshit about _keeping the magic alive,_ and now she was well and truly kicking herself.

Especially since she knew that Nicole was just four rooms to her left.

They had agreed to spend the night before the wedding in the hotel attached to their venue. Their home was some hour away from the converted barn, and they had not wanted the frantic rush in the morning. And so by Waverly’s insistence, both were now alone, just four divider walls between them.

And Waverly hated it.

She had been in her spacious double room for all of three hours. She had laid everything out ready for tomorrow, she had practised her vows three times in the mirror, and she had taken a long, relaxing bath. 

Then she had, for all intents and purposes, lost her mind. 

She had done a considerable amount of pacing, spent a worryingly long time flicking through her fiancée’s social media profiles, and thrown herself face first into the plush fabric of her pillows and groaned until she was forced to roll over to breathe. 

Now she was ready to explode.

She sighed, dragging herself up to the mirror, intending to waste a few minutes staring at her own reflection.

Until she had an idea.

They weren't allowed to _be_ together, but she was pretty sure there was nothing in the rules that said she couldn't send her fiancée a few cheeky reminders of what she was missing, was there?

Flashbacks of Nicole’s Bachelorette filled the brunette’s mind, and she felt her skin begin to prickle with excitement as she remembered the way her fiancée had responded so viscerally to the images and to Waverly’s words. The way she always did.

Waverly smirked. Ever the planner, she had purchased a number of different sets of lingerie for tomorrow's wedding night. _Options_ , she had told herself. This time, she was extremely grateful to herself for her forward planning. 

She set to work, stripping herself of her threadbare PJs and replacing them with the criss-crossed lines of lace and satin that made up her deep blue lingerie and suspenders set. She tousled her hair into natural waves, and applied a light coat of make-up.

She grinned as she grabbed her phone, swiping the screen to pull up Nicole’s number. She'd start sweet. Unassuming. The redhead's reaction was always so much more heated when she didn't see it coming.

"Hey, beautiful."

Nicole's voice on the other end of the line instantly brought a soft smile to Waverly’s lips, and she felt her shoulders drop for the first time in hours.

"Hey, you."

"You okay?" Nicole's tone was soft, almost whispered, and something in it told Waverly that her fiancée _knew_ she was struggling.

"I _miss_ you." Waverly whined. "Being so close to you but being without you sucks Eeyore's tail pin."

Nicole laughed openly, the sound echoing through the phone and wrapping around Waverly’s heart, making her feel just a little less insane for a moment.

"Is that a saying?" The redhead chuckled.

"It is now," Waverly grinned.

That laugh.

God, Waverly was in love.

There was something in that laugh that seemed to flip a switch, and Waverly's mind was instantly made up. She didn’t _want_ teasing photos and sultry whispers through the speakers. 

She wanted her girl. Rules be damned.

She jumped up, pressing the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she threw on her oversized hotel robe, and fastened the tie.

"I miss you too baby," Nicole’s soft voice continued, "and yeah, it's kinda the worst."

Waverly winced as she pulled back the door to her room, the latch clicking as it closed behind her. She held her breath, exhaling slowly when Nicole didn't seem to notice.

“It’s the biggest day of our lives tomorrow," she whispered, leaning against the wall in the hallway for just a moment. "It just doesn’t feel right not preparing for it with you.”

"I know."

Waverly smirked.

“I’m pretty sure the rule is we can’t sleep in the same bed tonight, right…?”

“The rule is _stupid,"_ Nicole whined. "Fuck the rules.”

“How about…” Waverly breathed, pausing as she rapped her knuckles lightly on Nicole’s room door. "I fuck _you_ instead.”

She grinned, her heart racing as she heard Nicole stutter slightly on the other end of the line. She bit her lip, holding her breath as the sound of footsteps shuffled across the carpeted floor, and the latch clicked as Nicole pulled the door open.

Nicole’s eyebrows shot up, and her dimples popped in full force as she let her eyes roam the sight of her fiancée in her hotel issued robe. She held a finger up to Waverly, a gesture for her to wait, as she spoke again into her phone.

"Baby, I'm gonna have to call you back, because there is some kind of goddamn _goddess_ at my door, and…"

Waverly shook her head in amusement, slowly tugging at the tie to her robe as she stepped over the threshold, pushing the redhead back into the room.

"And I'm sorry…" Nicole grinned, her eyes dropping the length of Waverly’s body once more, her phone still pressed to her ear. "But I don't think I'm gonna be able to control myself because she is _really_ …"

Waverly let her robe fall open.

 _"Sexy…_ " 

Nicole trailed off, her grin faltering and her eyes widening as they dropped over the lines of the lingerie, and the toned, tanned curves that showed beneath it. She swallowed visibly. 

_"Jesus."_

Waverly smirked as Nicole’s phone thudded to the floor.

"Is this against the rules?" She whispered, taking another step closer to the redhead. 

Nicole nodded her head, her eyes still wide and her pupils blown as they roamed the brunette’s body in heated reverence. She blinked, switching the motion of her head to a shake.

"Worth it."

Nicole had barely husked out her words before she crashed her lips against Waverly’s, pulling the brunette hungrily against her body as she pushed the robe smoothly from her shoulders. 

Waverly moaned into the kiss, her fingers instantly finding home in red hair as she felt Nicole’s hands slip over her ass.

She knew they had to be up early, and she knew they weren't supposed to see each other tonight, but frankly that rule could suck an egg. This was about _them._

And right now she wanted to be as close to Nicole as possible. 

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Nicole exhaled slowly, warm eyes focusing on the image reflected in the mirror before her. Something felt _different_ about the person staring back at her. Something that had changed and bent and grown over the past two and a half years of being with Waverly Earp. If she was really honest, she didn’t think it was that she had changed all that much. What had changed, really, was the way she felt when she looked at her own eyes. Waverly loved her _so_ hard, and so unwaveringly that it was impossible not to see threads of the person her fiancée believed she was. When Nicole looked in the mirror now, she saw strength, and compassion, and loyalty. Traits that she guessed had always been there, really. But that she had never allowed herself to see. Never allowed herself to embrace.

And today when she looked in the mirror, she saw someone _almost_ worthy of calling herself Waverly’s wife. She saw a goddamn _bride_. She grinned, running her hands over the laced material of her wedding dress, smoothing out the crinkles that she knew didn’t really exist.

She had assumed that she would be much more nervous the morning of her wedding, but she knew that she had never been more sure of anything in her life, and so she found herself unexpectedly calm. Excited; almost fit to burst, and her stomach was full to the brim with beating butterflies, but nerves? She didn’t think she could call them that.

Wynonna, on the other hand…

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

Wynonna paced the floor behind Nicole, her fingers clenching and unclenching with her anxious energy.

"Wynonna…"

"No, this is _your fault!”_ Wynonna cried. “You're stressing me out, will you just _calm down, Haught!"_

Nicole bit back a laugh, turning to face her friend with as much calm composure as possible.

"Dude, _why_ are you so stressed?"

 _"Why?"_ Wynonna halted, wide eyes shooting to Nicole’s in incredulous disbelief. "You're asking me _why?_ We have forty minutes! You get married to my sister in _forty minutes_ , Nicole!” 

“I know.” Nicole grinned, her eyes drifting dreamily. “Honestly, I’m still having a hard time believing my luck.”

 _“You’re having second thoughts?”_ Wynonna screeched, her face paling as she gripped at Nicole’s shoulders.

 _"Obviously_ not!" Nicole screwed her face up in confusion." _What_ part of what I said did you get _that_ from?” 

“What if the photographer doesn’t show?”

Nicole laughed, shaking her head in amusement as she fought to keep up with her friend’s bouncing thought train.

“Wy, she has literally been here for the last hour taking photos of us getting ready.”

“What if the caterers don’t show?”

Wynonna was pacing again. 

Nicole leaned back against the wall, sparkling eyes following the brunette’s frantic movements.

“They’re in-house, they _show_ every day.”

“What if I’ve forgotten the rings?”

 _“Have_ you?” Nicole quirked an eyebrow, her heart lurching for the briefest of moments.

“No, of course not,” Wynonna snapped. “How could you even _think_ that?”

Nicole chuckled, pushing herself off the wall as she approached her friend. She halted Wynonna’s movements, both hands closing lightly over the brunette’s shoulders. She fixed warm, patient eyes on electric blue, hoping Wynonna would see the calm that she knew was reflected in them.

“Everything is ready, Wy. Waverly is meticulous, and you have been _unexpectedly_ awesome while we’ve planned this.” Nicole grinned as Wynonna’s lips twitched softly at the compliment. “There’s nothing more to do. This is it. I’m marrying the love of my life, and there is _nothing_ that could go wrong with the plans today that would ruin that for me.”

Wynonna exhaled slowly, nodding her head as a small smile graced her lips. 

Then her eyes shot wide, her shoulders tensing under Nicole’s hands.

_“What if Waverly doesn’t show?”_

“Waverly’s _going_ to show,” Nicole chuckled.

Wynonna scoffed. 

“You’re awfully confident.” 

Nicole rolled her eyes. Wynonna’s muscles were still tensed beneath her touch, but there was an unmistakable tease in her tone, and a telltale smirk across her lips that told Nicole that the brunette had relaxed a little. 

“One of the perks of being in a healthy relationship, Earp.” She grinned. “I _know_ your sister loves me.”

 _“Yeah,_ I know.” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “It’s _sickening_ , frankly.” 

“Go check in with her, Wy.” Nicole spun the brunette under her hands, pushing her gently toward the door. “For your own sake.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly exhaled shakily as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She was nervous. _So_ nervous.

Not to marry Nicole.

She’d never been more sure of _anything._

But just because everything felt like a fairy tale. Like a dream. The venue and the dress and the beautiful fairy lights that lined the grounds that she could see from the large bay window of the hotel room. There was something in the magic of it all that just overwhelmed her a little bit. Something in the knowledge that this was all for her. For _them._ The thought that something so special could be hers made her chest tingle, and the butterflies surge in her stomach.

She was barely aware of the rap on her door until Chrissy spoke, her words breaking through Waverly’s reverie.

“Waves, it’s Wynonna.”

“She can come in.”

Waverly took a deep breath. Somehow _this_ made her more nervous than the prospect of Nicole seeing her for the first time. She took one last look in the mirror, her lips curling into a soft smile as she turned away, ready for her sister.

Waverly held her breath as Wynonna entered the room, halting immediately as their eyes met. Sharp blue eyes misted instantly, the older Earp's jaw quivering as her gaze dropped quietly over Waverly’s body, taking in the white lace and the satin and the flow of the material across the carpeted floor.

 _“Babygirl…”_

The single word was breathed with such reverence, such awe and such love that Waverly could feel it settle in her throat, forming a lump that she couldn’t swallow down.

“How do I look?”

She chuckled softly, turning slowly on the spot in an attempt to break the emotional tension of the atmosphere.

She could _not_ cry yet! Not before she'd even left the hotel room.

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” Wynonna whispered.

Waverly swallowed hard, her eyes burning stronger with the threat of tears. Wynonna had never said anything like that to her before, and she had been wholly unprepared for the wave of emotion that it would bring when she did.

“Fuck, I am _so_ proud of you, Waves. For _everything.”_ Wynonna’s voice wavered a little, and the lump in Waverly’s throat grew. “I wasn’t always there, I know that, and I will never stop being sorry for that. But I cannot tell you how goddamn _glad_ I am that I came back. That I got to see who you became. That I got to see _this.”_ Wynonna chuckled, her hand gesturing to Waverly’s dress. “You are so strong, so smart, so beautiful.” She grinned. “Haught is one _lucky_ sonofabitch.”

“I know.” Waverly giggled, blinking back the tears as best she could. “But I’m pretty goddamn lucky too.”

“Yeah.” Wynonna nodded, her wide eyes earnest. “Yeah, I know.”

Waverly hadn’t expected this. It was so rare for Wynonna to lay herself bare, and to speak so openly without the jokes and the sarcasm and the sharp words that hid her true emotions. She hadn’t expected the raw vulnerability in Wynonna’s eyes, and something in it caught hard in her chest.

This hadn’t been the plan. It had never been the plan. Right from the start this had been another tradition that they’d wanted to throw to the wind, but there was something so poignant in this moment that changed everything, and suddenly Waverly couldn’t see things any other way. 

“Give me away, Wy?”

“Wh… _what?”_ Wynonna’s eyes widened, filling quickly with tears as her jaw began to quiver once more.

“Walk me down the aisle?” Waverly whispered. “Be there with me.”

“Are you sure?” Wynonna’s eyes flickered between Waverly’s, searching her sister’s face. “I-I thought…”

“I’m sure.” Waverly nodded, beaming as Wynonna’s face broke into a wide smile. “Because you’re _here_. It doesn’t matter if you once weren’t. You’re here, and you’re _so_ important to me. And you love Nicole almost as much as I do.” She grinned as Wynonna rolled her eyes. “And somehow now I can’t imagine doing this any other way.”

There was a long moment of quiet, before Wynonna surged forward, pulling her sister into a crushing hug.

“Well, then, Babygirl…” She grinned, stepping back as she held her arm out for Waverly to take. “Let’s get you married.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

It felt like a dream.

Walking down the aisle, surrounded by their closest family and friends, with her sister’s arm gripping her tightly, Waverly felt like she was in a dream.

She couldn't take her eyes off of Nicole. 

She had seen countless brides and countless grooms in her life and on the TV and in the movies, and she had watched them cry and watched them tremble, and she had believed that the emotion that they felt as they walked this path was something close to overwhelmed. She had expected that she would see Nicole waiting for her at the end of the aisle and her heart would pound, and her palms would sweat, and the emotion would be too much to take. But what she had felt when she had stepped onto the aisle and met those deep, forever warm eyes, was an encompassing wave of calm. Nothing had ever been surer, or clearer, and everything she felt was reflected in Nicole’s eyes. She had found her forever. She was walking toward the person that she knew her soul _truly_ sought, and it was _that_ understanding that brought the tears to her eyes.

Her fiancée looked _ethereal._

And the love in deep mocha eyes, and that smile, and that _dimple…_

Waverly giggled. It was taking everything she had not to run to her, and had Wynonna not been holding her so tightly, she might have.

As they finally reached the end of the aisle, Nicole stepped forward. Sparkling eyes fixed on Wynonna, and she grinned, holding her hand out between them. 

Wynonna chuckled as she shook her head dismissively, pulling the redhead instead into a bear hug. The tears stung fresh in Waverly’s eyes at the open display of affection.

Waverly’s entire body practically vibrated as she finally stood facing Nicole, her grip tighter than necessary on her fiancée’s hands. She wanted _desperately_ to pull her in close, and only the sound of Jeremy sobbing loudly behind them broke her trance enough to stop her. She giggled, shaking her head as Nicole shot him an intentionally bewildered look.

With Nicole before her now, the registrar reading words that barely registered in Waverly’s brain, every last one of her nerves had gone. She knew she was up first. She couldn't remember a single word of her vows, but suddenly it didn’t matter anymore. She was simply telling the love of her life why she wanted to marry her, and that was the easiest thing in the world.

She took a deep breath, her cheeks aching already with her unrelenting smile as she searched her _fiancée’s_ eyes for the last time.

“Nicole, I love you.” She shrugged. It was that easy. “Intensely, viscerally, irrevocably. _Eternally._ I always have. From the moment you showed up on my doorstep with ripped jeans and that _goddamn_ dimple, I was a goner. And in minutes I fell for your charm, and your wit, and your easy nature. Then you moved in, and I fell harder for your passion and your drive, your thoughtfulness and your optimism. Your secret inner nerd and your ridiculous inner child.”

Nicole giggled, her eyes misting with tears, and Waverly fell in love harder.

“And every day since then I’ve loved you. Needed you. _Wanted_ you... Christ, have I wanted you.” 

A spattering of laughter rang out across the room, and Waverly blushed. Somehow, in the magic of her moment with Nicole, she had managed to forget the fact that _everyone_ she knew and loved could hear her words. Her fiancée’s playful smirk and those watery eyes kept her grounded, and she grinned, stroking her thumbs over the back of the redhead’s hand. 

"So let's _always_ be that couple that can’t keep their eyes or their hands off of each other. Let’s keep being that couple that make people sick, and get eye rolls on the subway. The couple who spend a weekend in sweats on the couch eating peanut butter from the jar, and still feel like they’re living their best life. The couple that can have an entire conversation without using more than three words. The couple that can bicker for an hour over the colour of a tennis ball, but work through genuine issues without a single raised voice.”

Nicole chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s green.”

“It’s a _hundred_ percent yellow.” Waverly grinned, shaking her head. “Let’s _keep_ being that couple. Let’s keep being _us._ You said this to me when you asked me to marry you, Nic, and I’m saying it to you now on our wedding day. We are the best it gets, Nicole Haught, and I want it forever."

Waverly had no idea what the registrar said next.

All she could focus on was the unabashed look of complete devotion in Nicole’s eyes, and the way her fingers felt as they traced patterns over Waverly’s trembling hands. And the way her voice sounded so earnest as she began to speak.

“Waverly, you’re so beautiful. You’re so kind, and so sweet, and so smart, and everyone who ever spends a moment in your company leaves a little lighter. You’re an honest to god _angel,_ but...” Nicole paused, chuckling softly as Waverly visibly held her breath. “That’s not why I love you.”

Waverly’s stomach flipped, and she held her breath. How could those eyes be so adoring and so playful at the same time?

“Waves, I love you _most_ at four in the morning when you mumble Latin in your sleep. And at ten at night when you’re watching reruns of The Office and laughing so hard you snort at the jokes that haven’t even screened yet, just because you know they’re coming. And when I hear you putting on your own cookery show as you make us dinner. You don’t think I’ve ever caught you, but every time I hear the words ‘ _Hello, and welcome to Forkin’ Great Food with Waverly’,_ I fall infinitely deeper in love with you.”

“Oh my _god.”_ Waverly whispered, one hand breaking away to cover her face as she giggled bashfully. “Asshole.”

Nicole grinned.

“And when you’re mad at me, so you make sure to huff and grumble a few times as you snuggle in under my arm, _just_ to make sure I know I’m not forgiven. _That’s_ why I love you. And I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you for all the same reasons and for so many more. You’re my person, Waverly Earp. And I can’t believe how lucky I am that this is the last time I’ll ever call you by that name.”

Waverly couldn’t have described how she felt if she’d tried. The _only_ things that she was aware of were Nicole, and the sound of the words as the registrar pronounced them married, and she was finally told she could kiss her new bride.

She was fairly sure Nicole’s lips had never felt so good.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that this was a kiss that was _definitely_ a little too intense for an audience, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

Frankly, she wanted to climb her new wife like a goddamn tree.

Nicole broke the kiss sheepishly as the registrar cleared her throat, and Waverly chuckled breathlessly.

"I love you, wifey." Waverly beamed, her fingers tracing Nicole’s jaw. 

"I love you too, _Mrs Haught."_

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

Waverly couldn’t find her new wife anywhere. 

The room was buzzing, the guests milling about on the dance floor and propping up the bar, but Nicole was nowhere to be seen.

Waverly knew she wasn’t in the bathroom, and she knew she wasn’t in the courtyard. She couldn’t see the obvious flashes of red and white anywhere in the converted barn, and she furrowed her brow as she considered her options.

Wynonna was _completely_ blatted. Waverly had had a momentary fear that Nicole might be passed out somewhere in the same state, but she knew her wife wasn’t drunk. Both of them had vowed to keep a reasonably clear head tonight, and the last time Waverly had seen Nicole she had been bright as ever.

Waverly was deliriously happy, but she couldn’t deny that she was exhausted. The day had been incredible; the ceremony, and the photos, and the speeches, and the meal; all of it had been magical. But it had been _exhausting._ Neither she nor Nicole had been able to eat much; constantly being pulled around, and the excitement too strong in their stomachs to allow them to eat. Waverly could feel her stomach rumbling and her muscles growing tired, and as much as she was enjoying the evening party, she needed her wife around her to keep her going.

She sighed as she headed out toward the kitchen, rapidly running out of other ideas.

 _“Fuck_ me running,” she squealed as she felt arms wrap tight around her waist, lifting her and tugging her backward with effortless strength. 

_“That_ would be _quite_ the challenge.”

Waverly huffed out a breathless laugh as her wife’s murmured voice chuckled against the shell of her ear, and she leaned back against the touch as her pounding heart settled in her chest.

Nicole’s arms loosened their grip, and Waverly turned to face her, taking stock of their location for the first time. Nicole had pulled her into the small serving area between the reception room and the kitchen, each of the walls lined with trolleys and hotplates where the food was kept until it was ready to be taken out to the guests.

“I’ve been looking for you!” Waverly sighed, brushing her nose gently over Nicole’s as she relaxed into her wife’s arms. “Gotta say, this was not high on my list of places to check.”

“All will become clear.” Nicole grinned, sweeping Waverly effortlessly into a bridal carry and settling them down on the floor, the brunette sat over her wife’s lap.

“This is hygienic,” Waverly laughed. “And _great_ for our _white_ dresses.”

Nicole reached behind her, producing a tray of mini spring rolls with a dimpled grin and a flourish, and Waverly couldn’t help but giggle.

"Anyone ever tell you you're ridiculous, Haught?"

“My _wife_ has once or twice." Nicole wriggled her eyebrows, a cheeky grin pulling at her dimples. "I’m _wasting away,_ Wave! I needed a refuel.”

“Hey, no judgement here. I’m just upset you didn’t take me with you.” Waverly laughed, taking a spring roll from the platter. “Now this takes me back. Sharing a bowl of spring rolls with you.”

“Ah yes.” Nicole smirked around her own mouthful. “To the very start of your _relentless_ thirst.”

“Asshole.” Waverly scoffed, slapping her palm across Nicole’s chest. She shrugged. “You’re not wrong, though.”

“I knew then, you know.” Nicole’s voice softened to a low murmur, her eyes twinkling with adoration as she fixed them on hazel. “The moment I saw you’d made an excessive banquet for kings, _just_ to show people round your house, I knew I was gonna wanna marry you.”

“You did _not,_ you lying charmer.” Waverly giggled, her fingers absently tracing gentle patterns over the back of Nicole’s neck. “I was such a flustered mess, I thought you’d think I was a _complete_ goober.”

“I did.” Nicole chuckled as Waverly scowled. “That was _how_ I knew I’d love you.”

“Know when I knew?” Waverly murmured.

“When you saw me in my uniform?” Nicole quirked an eyebrow, her lips curling up into a cocky smirk.

“When I saw you doing half naked pull ups in the hallway.”

Nicole laughed, her cheeks tinting with the slightest of blushes as she buried her face into Waverly’s neck. 

Waverly melted.

 _How_ had they come this far, and she could still make her wife blush with a little appreciation? She leaned forward, claiming Nicole’s lips in a soft, lingering kiss. Nicole hummed contentedly as she pulled back.

“You look _beyond_ beautiful today,” she murmured. “Have I told you that?”

“You look beautiful, too.” Waverly breathed, pressing her forehead against Nicole’s. “Like, _disgustingly_ stunning.”

Nicole chuckled.

“It’s funny, everyone’s been telling me that I look beautiful all day, but when you say it, it feels true.” 

“It _is_ true.” Waverly beamed, her stomach fizzing with an overwhelming surge of unexpected giddy excitement. She squealed. “I can’t _believe_ you’re my _wife!_ ”

Nicole giggled, her eyes sparkling with the same giddy excitement. 

“I love you, Waverly Haught.”

 _“Waverly Haught!”_ Waverly squealed again. “Oh man, I cannot _wait_ for the name jokes. I know you get tired of them, but I personally can’t...”

Waverly moaned in surprise as Nicole’s lips cut her words short. The kiss was _searing,_ in a way that Waverly most certainly had not expected, and she felt the touch burn instantly in her core. Nicole’s movements were firm, hungry, and her tongue claimed Waverly’s almost carnally as strong arms tugged the brunette closer to her body. Waverly gasped, rocking her body hard against Nicole’s as she deepened the kiss impossibly further. There was too much fabric in the way; too much restricted movement in their wedding dresses for Waverly to get the friction she _really_ needed, but the way her blood burned so hot beneath her skin was unbearable, and she needed to try. Nicole groaned into the kiss, her hands clutching tight at the brunette’s hips as she rocked her own upwards.

Until the door to the kitchen flung open.

 _“Woah,_ s-so sorry Ma’ams!”

Waverly jumped back, her cheeks flushed with both embarrassment and deep arousal as the young waiter stumbled backwards, the tray of food in his hands wobbling precariously as he fought to keep his balance.

She bit her lip, burying her face into Nicole’s neck as the redhead giggled, hoisting them both effortlessly to their feet. Nicole beamed widely at the waiter, though Waverly could see the faint tint of a blush across the tips of her wife’s ears as she quickly excused them, bustling Waverly back out into the wedding party. 

_Their_ wedding party.

Where they probably _should_ have been anyway.

Waverly’s mind was still swimming, and she was uncomfortably wet as they made their way back amongst their friends and family. Nicole’s interrupted kiss still burned on her lips and between her thighs, and she was having a hard time pulling herself together. She grinned as hooded mocha eyes caught her own for a moment, her stomach clenching as she processed that her wife had been as affected by their heated make out session as she had. Nicole smirked knowingly as she tugged her onto the dancefloor, instantly pulling her close against her body.

Jeremy and Robin, and Wynonna and Rosita were quick to join them, but even with her best friends around her, it was barely any time at all before the movement of Nicole’s body against her own had Waverly’s head spinning, and she was lost once more in her wife.

"So, Mrs Haught…" she murmured, her lips ghosting the shell of Nicole’s ear as her fingers trailed slowly over the curves of the redhead’s back. "How soon is too soon to leave your own wedding reception?"

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is dedicated solely to the wedding night. I promise I'm not short changing you 😉😂


	16. In My Wedding Dress?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience with the delay in this chapter. A combination of sickness and an unexpected house move have just not given me much time to write over the past month, but I promise the next chapter won't take nearly as long!
> 
> Also if you haven't seen it, go check out the Painted Walls artwork I had commissioned by @sapphyre411 on twitter. On theirs, or on mine @StaceyE706 
> 
> I'm in love with it!

Waverly could feel every minute of the day in every one of her muscles, the tiredness seeping into her bones as she made her way slowly up the hotel hallway toward the bridal suite. The way Nicole’s arm wrapped wearily around her, and the way her body leaned just the slightest bit heavier than usual into Waverly’s side told her that she wasn’t the only one. They were pleasantly quiet as they walked; both enjoying the afterglow of the best day of their lives, and allowing their tired cheeks and their adrenaline soaked minds to relax for the first time in hours. Days, realistically. Waverly knew that both would sleep well tonight. Better, probably, than they had in weeks. But there was no way Waverly was letting sleep call her _just_ yet. Not without fully enjoying the bridal suite. 

Not without consummating her goddamn marriage! 

Her stomach fluttered with eager butterflies as they reached their door, and Nicole scanned the key card to their suite.

The _bridal suite!_

Waverly bit her lip as Nicole pushed the door open, barely holding it together as she fought against the all out squeak that threatened in her throat. 

As soon as she stepped foot into the room, she lost it.

Her fatigue was forgotten instantly as she squealed, kicking her shoes off and spinning around in uncontained excitement. Nicole’s giddy laughter rang out behind her, and the tiredness that had been unmissable in the redhead’s eyes before now vanished completely as she threw herself into the air, landing with a bounce in the centre of the _obscene_ four poster bed.

"We did it, baby,” Waverly giggled as she skipped toward her wife. "We got _married!"_

“We sure did.” Nicole grinned, wriggling her eyebrows. "You're _stuck_ with me now, Mrs Haught."

Waverly squealed once more at the name that she was sure she would _never_ grow tired of hearing, and she bounced on the balls of her feet as she reached her hands out toward her wife.

"And now _I'm_ the only person you're gonna see naked, _ever_ again," Nicole sang, her tone amusingly smug as she linked her fingers through Waverly’s, hoisting herself up and into the brunette’s space.

Waverly laughed, shaking her head.

"That is _far_ from a bad thing."

"Even when I'm old and saggy?" Nicole grinned, her hands finding home over Waverly’s hips as she pulled them flush against her own.

" _Especially_ when you're old and saggy." Waverly winked.

Nicole stilled, her eyes widening in deliberate horror.

Waverly sighed.

She knew _exactly_ what was coming before the words even formed on her wife’s lips.

She shook her head, her lips pursed. 

_"Wow,"_ Nicole breathed, shaking her head in mock dismay. "You really waited til’ we were legally bound before telling me you fancy old people, eh?"

Waverly rolled her eyes.

"I was _trying_ to be romantic!” She slapped her palm across Nicole’s chest, shoving the redhead lightly. “Asshole.” 

Nicole grinned.

"An asshole _you_ married!" She brushed her nose over Waverly’s, her smile softening with her words.

Waverly chuckled, her breath catching slightly in her throat as she searched warm eyes. She trailed her fingers over Nicole’s collarbone, smiling softly at the goosebumps that prickled beneath them.

"Damn right, I did," she whispered, her chest swelling and her eyes burning as the realisation seemed to really sweep through her for the first time.

_Married._

They were really married. 

Nicole was her wife. The unbearably sexy, effortlessly confident, all out woman of her god damn dreams, who had knocked her for six with an ungodly dimple and a _heavenly_ smile on her doorstep two and half years ago, and had her falling more in love every day since, was her _wife._

She wasn’t sure that she would ever _truly_ believe that this was real. That she wouldn’t one day wake from this dream. But if she was honest, she wasn't sure she _could_ dream something as perfect as this if she tried.

The air was quiet for a moment, the giddy adrenaline bleeding into something much softer as both women basked in the contentment and the euphoria of the fact that they had reached the milestone that they’d planned for so long. That they belonged to each other now. 

And that they were finally _alone._

Waverly bit her lip, feeling the air shift as Nicole’s eyes flashed with something darker. Something playful and unspoken. She grinned, running her hands slowly down over the redhead’s chest.

"Seeing you in a wedding dress is better than I could ever have imagined,” Waverly whispered, her tone soft as she leaned in, her lips _just_ ghosting the shell of Nicole’s ear. She smirked, biting down on the lobe as she felt her wife shiver, her chest hitching beneath Waverly’s palms. “But now…” She pulled back, fixing her eyes on darkened mocha. “We’re _really_ gonna need to get you out of it."

Nicole huffed out a laugh, her eyes sparkling with playful mischief as she slipped her hand over Waverly’s neck, tugging the brunette forward into an unexpectedly _dirty_ kiss. 

The spark was instant. 

Unforgiving flames seared beneath Waverly’s skin _immediately,_ and her body reacted instinctively, rolling and pushing seamlessly against Nicole’s. She lost herself _so_ quickly in her wife’s kiss, her head swimming with desire that built quicker than she knew how to handle. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that _maybe_ this should be softer. Maybe their wedding night should be a little less _fire,_ and a little more softness. But the way that Nicole’s tongue led her own right now was far from soft, and the raw passion behind it was burning low in her stomach. Frankly, she was instantly _desperately_ wet, desperately turned on, and she simply couldn't find it in herself to care. Her hands clutched and grasped desperately over the back of her wife’s dress, almost frantic in their plight to figure out how in _fuck’s_ name she was supposed to get her out of it.

 _"Wait_ , baby," Nicole breathed, her chest heaving and her cheeks already flushed red as she broke away, her hands sliding down to rest on the brunette's hips.

Waverly rested her forehead against Nicole’s, her chest heaving and her hands fisted over the hem of Nicole’s dress as she fought to control the need that had raged _so_ suddenly through her veins. She blinked, exhaling shakily as she pulled back to meet the redhead’s gaze.

"You okay, Nic?" She murmured. 

Nicole nodded, chuckling softly as she dropped her gaze to the floor for a brief moment.

“Th-there’s uh…” she smiled almost shyly, her eyes flicking back to search Waverly’s carefully as she spoke. “There's something I _really_ want to do first."

Waverly frowned.

Nicole seemed… _nervous?_

Waverly was _not_ having that.

There was _nothing_ Nicole could say right now that would warrant her nerves.

It was their goddamn wedding night.

 _Mrs_ Nicole Haught could ask for _whatever_ she wanted from Waverly right now.

And Waverly would deliver.

“Anything, baby,” Waverly husked, her fists easing, her fingers dancing over the hem of the material that hugged her wife's chest. She fixed her gaze on Nicole’s, the corners of her lips curling as she dropped her voice further. “You can do _anything_ you want to, Nic."

Nicole’s lips parted, the subtle trace of a smirk tugging at the corners as her eyes flashed dark. The playful fire behind them sparked straight through Waverly’s overheated core, and she shivered in anticipation.

It was instantaneous. Waverly was barely able to register the seamless movements as firm hands closed around her hips and spun, tugging her back flush against Nicole’s front. Deliciously insistent lips devoured the brunette's exposed neckline, and her jaw, and her ear, and Waverly’s legs were fast threatening to give out beneath her. Sure, determined hands ran softly over her stomach and her chest, and Waverly’s head swam with arousal as she fought to keep up with the pleasurable assault over every one of her nerve endings.

She stumbled slightly as Nicole stepped forward, the hands that roamed her chest the only thing keeping her upright as her entire body surrendered to the redhead’s touch. Until a firm but gentle hand settled between her shoulder blades, and pushed. Waverly gasped as she collapsed forward over the end of the bed, her feet still _just_ touching the floor below them.

Nicole’s hands found her hips once more, tugging back as she rolled her own forward against the brunette’s ass. Waverly’s breaths fell sharp as those devastating hands trailed down over her ass, and the backs of her thighs. She stilled, her breath caught in her throat for a moment as Nicole’s touch disappeared.

She exhaled shakily as those hands returned, firmer and warmer over the skin of her calves, and then her thighs. Waverly stuttered slightly as she felt the heavy material of her dress slide up over her hips, and the warmth of Nicole’s body press up closer behind her. Teasing fingertips scratched lightly over the backs of Waverly’s now exposed thighs, and the implication hit _hard_ in the pit of her stomach. 

Nicole groaned behind her, her fingers snapping the bands of white satin that ran between the brunette’s stockings and her suspender belt, and Waverly felt a crippling blow of arousal as she remembered that her wife would likely be wearing something similar beneath her own dress. The firefighter’s fingers trailed higher, and Waverly’s thoughts ran dry. Nicole slipped one single finger beneath the material of Waverly’s underwear, trailing the back of it slowly over the brunette’s core before the touch was gone, trailing a torturous path down the inside of her thigh and away from where she _really_ needed it. 

_"Shit!"_ Waverly groaned. She clutched at the sheets either side of her head, forcing herself up onto her forearms as her back arched. She huffed out a choked laugh, turning her head to meet mischievous mocha eyes. "In my wedding dress?"

Nicole leaned down, her lips curled in the filthiest of smirks as she rolled her hips once more over Waverly’s ass. The brunette shivered as teasing lips ghosted over the back of her shoulders, then finally pressed against the sensitive skin over the back of her neck. She moaned softly as Nicole bit down on her earlobe, sucking the flesh firmly into her mouth.

"That okay, baby?" Nicole murmured, the heated breath of her words pulling goosebumps over Waverly’s skin.

Nicole was _everywhere_. The roll of her body, her nails over the insides of Waverly’s trembling thighs, her teeth teasing over goosebumped shoulders. She was driving Waverly _crazy,_ and the sheer need was suddenly unbearable. 

_"Yes,_ " she sobbed. _"Don’t_ tease me Nic, just _take_ me."

Waverly held her breath as Nicole’s fingers retraced their agonising path over her thigh, only this time they edged _closer._ She stilled, her hands fisted hard in the sheets as she fought her body’s urge to move; to chase the touch that was making her crazy; to drive Nicole to just…

_“Fuck!”_

Waverly cried out, burying her face in the crook of her arm as determined fingers slipped her underwear aside and sank deep into her core. She bit down on her own forearm, her whole body tensed hard as Nicole held her fingertips firmly against her front wall for a blistering moment. 

The goddamn _longest_ moment Waverly had ever experienced.

Until she couldn’t take it anymore. 

She groaned, rolling her hips back into her wife’s touch. Her core clenched, and her arousal flooded her veins at the low growl the action received in response. She could almost _hear_ Nicole’s smirk as the redhead began to move, and she whimpered in anticipation of the game she knew her wife was playing. 

Every thrust hit _right_ where Waverly needed the touch, Nicole’s fingertips curling deliciously, but the redhead wasn’t done teasing yet. The pace was painfully slow, every lingering moment between thrusts setting Waverly’s body alight with flames of desperate need. She couldn’t take this game. She needed more, and she knew _exactly_ how to get it. 

She smirked. 

She ground her hips, the curves of her ass rolling in a movement that she _knew_ would draw her wife’s focus. She shifted her weight onto one arm, trailing the fingers of the other between her own legs. She moaned softly at the first touch of her own fingertips over her swollen clit, and the grind of her hips faltered for the briefest of moments.

Nicole’s grip on her hip tightened.

 _“Waverly…”_ she breathed. Low, husky. It was a warning, but the break in her voice betrayed her arousal.

The next thrust came a little quicker. A little less controlled.

Waverly smirked.

When the next thrust came, Waverly clenched her muscles hard, gripping her wife’s fingers as tightly as she could. She let out a low, hoarse groan, her own fingers speeding up their motion over her clit. 

Nicole snapped, the band of her control breaking in a low, predatory growl.

Her free hand shot between Waverly’s shoulder blades, pressing hard as she forced the brunette down against the mattress. What had started so teasing was rapidly becoming desperate and a little rough, and Waverly _would_ have laughed. She could have felt shamelessly smug about her win. Might have made some quick quip. 

But she couldn’t have if she’d tried. 

Nicole was giving her _exactly_ what she’d asked for, and it was rendering her speechless. The pace was relentless, and as her wife fucked her mercilessly into the mattress, Waverly was completely unable to do anything but sob, her hips grinding down desperately into both her own hand and Nicole’s. 

Waverly buried her face in the sheets, biting down on the fabric as Nicole pushed her legs further apart, exploiting the extra room with deeper, impossibly harder thrusts of her fingers. Somehow, through the haze of delirious pleasure, Waverly’s mind managed to conjure an image of how they must look: Waverly bent over the bed, her wedding dress hoisted up around her waist, and the white lingerie that covered her ass pushed unceremoniously to the side as her dishevelled bride’s tenacious fingers drove forcefully into her. It was a painfully erotic image, and she groaned at the thought, her walls clenching tight around Nicole’s fingers as the arousal seared in her belly.

Nicole pressed her body down over the brunette’s, the movement changing the angle of her thrusts in a way that ripped the breath from Waverly’s lungs. Her free hand wrapped around the front of the brunette’s neck, squeezing _just_ tight enough to feel, and Waverly fell silent. The moans that had been falling so freely before now felt strained in her throat, and her chest heaved hard as the pleasure began to consume her every nerve. Then Nicole’s tongue curled over her ear, low grunts and groans reverberating over the sensitive flesh, and she knew she was done for.

Those goddamn _sounds._

Her spine tightened. Those sounds, coupled with incredible skilled fingers hitting that euphoric spot over and over again were _everything_ , and Waverly sobbed out her wife’s name as she crashed headlong into her orgasm, every muscle in her body trembling with obliterating pleasure.

Nicole’s weight pinning her to the mattress grounded Waverly as she sank down from her high, her skin flushed and her body tingling with elation. The material of Nicole’s dress pressed almost uncomfortably into the exposed skin of her thighs, and she bit her lip as the image of how they must look flashed once more through her mind. She groaned softly.

“How long have you been thinking about _that?”_ She murmured breathlessly, grinning as she felt Nicole chuckle into the back of her neck.

“Oh, since I proposed.” Nicole grinned.

Waverly laughed openly, shuffling her body out from under Nicole’s and propping herself up on her elbow as she studied her wife’s flushed face.

“Is it weird that I think it was kind of romantic?” She giggled, her fingers tracing a gentle path over Nicole’s jawline. “You made me yours once in this dress with your words, then once again with your _exceptional_ fingers.”

Nicole shrugged, her grin tugging at her dimples.

"That, and you look _ridiculously_ good in the dress, so I can’t _really_ be blamed.” She laughed, wriggling her eyebrows.

Waverly giggled. She let her eyes roam, taking in the tousled strands of hair that fell loose from the redhead’s updo, and the flushed skin over her chest and her neck. She let her gaze trace the way the white of the dress sat tight to the firefighter's body, the subtle patterns in the lace complimenting the curves of her hips and her thighs.

Nicole had never been _more_ beautiful, and Waverly wanted to do _exactly_ as her wife had done. Nicole had wanted to claim her once more in the dress that symbolised their union. In a way that was _just_ for them. And Waverly had every intention of doing the same. She smirked, fixing her eyes on Nicole’s as she dropped her voice to a husk.

"Stand up, baby." 

There was no polite request in Waverly’s words. It was an instruction. A demand. _She_ was in charge now, and she knew the fire behind her eyes would make sure of it.

Nicole’s eyes widened at the gravelly demand, and she paused for a moment as she studied Waverly’s face. Then she exhaled slowly, the slightest of smirks visible on her reddening cheeks as she hastily followed the instruction.

Waverly stood slowly, letting her gaze drop once more over her wife’s body as she took a deliberate step into Nicole’s space. She bit her lip, holding Nicole’s hooded gaze as she dropped her hands to the redhead’s hips and pushed, turning her slowly until her back hit the bedpost.

She smirked as Nicole swallowed audibly, her chest heaving in anticipation as Waverly ran a finger lightly over her lower lip, before claiming it in a slow, passionate kiss. 

Then she dropped to her knees.

She bit back her amusement as Nicole gasped loudly, her hand flying instinctively to the back of Waverly’s head. She was going to enjoy this.

She ran her hands slowly over Nicole’s thighs, squeezing firmly as she reached the tops. She pushed higher, trailing her touch over the redhead’s hips, and then down over her ass and the backs of her thighs. Nicole’s hips bucked forward, and she blushed deeply as Waverly cocked a knowing eyebrow.

"Feeling a little impatient are we, baby?" Waverly teased.

Nicole didn't respond. She huffed her frustration through pursed lips, though the corners quirked in amusement as she leaned her head back against the post of the bed.

Waverly grinned. 

She hooked her hands beneath the material of Nicole’s dress, and pushed it up around the curves of the redhead’s hips. Her breath caught hard in her throat as her eyes met the deep blue of lace underwear, framed with the darker black of a matching lace belt and suspenders. Waverly growled, burying her nose into the visibly damp fabric, her fingers closing tight around the sides of firm thighs. She pressed her tongue over Nicole’s clit, drawing wide circles over the lace material.

She could _just_ hear the whispered pleas and murmurs of desperation that fell from under Nicole’s breath, and the way the redhead’s grip tightened ever so slightly in her hair made her mouth water. She knew she had _no_ intention of teasing her wife any longer.

She moaned softly, slipping the lace underwear aside, and sucking Nicole’s clit instantly into her mouth. Nicole groaned loudly, the bedpost creaking heavily as she gripped hold of it, her hips instantly bucking forward into Waverly’s mouth. 

The moans and expletives that filled the room were already unintelligible, and Nicole’s thighs were already trembling, and Waverly couldn’t help but smirk as she processed just how worked up her wife was. Just how _fast_ this was going to be over. She pressed her hand against Nicole’s stomach, enjoying the way the muscles jumped and twitched as the redhead writhed and bucked above her.

Nicole’s hips rolled fluidly, her hand grasping at the back of Waverly’s head as she chased her pleasure from the brunette’s mouth. Waverly flicked her tongue, but she let the grind of Nicole’s hips set the motion and the speed, the firefighter's groans growing guttural as she unashamedly fucked the brunette’s face. 

Waverly could feel the tightening of Nicole’s abs below the press of her hand, and she knew her wife was close. She slipped two fingers of her free hand effortlessly into Nicole’s core, groaning into the heated flesh as she felt just how wet her wife was for her. She curled her fingers forward as the redhead sobbed, sinking down against the touch.

"Waves, baby, _harder,"_ Nicole pleaded, her breath beginning to fall faster and shorter. _"Please_ , I need… _oh…"_

Waverly thrust her fingers, angling them in just the way she needed to to hit the spot that she knew would lead to Nicole’s unravelling. 

_Seconds._

It took seconds.

Nicole cried out, both hands flying up to grip the bedpost in a frantic effort to hold herself upright as her body trembled and jerked into Waverly’s relentless touch.

Waverly hummed contentedly as she eased her wife down from her high, running her hands over the redhead’s thighs as she guided her back onto the bed. She crawled slowly over Nicole’s body, the heat in her veins ebbing into something much softer as she took in the adorable flush over her wife’s cheeks, and the reverent awe and unabashed adoration in still pleasure-drunk eyes as they watched her.

She grinned, placing a soft kiss on the end of the redhead’s nose.

"I love you, Nicole Haught," she whispered.

The air around them seemed to calm as Nicole claimed Waverly’s lips in a soft, slow kiss. The roaring flames of desire simmered down into a comfortable warmth, and the spark of lust behind every touch melted into something softer. 

Butterflies fluttered in Waverly’s stomach as Nicole rolled herself onto her front, allowing the brunette’s roaming hands the space to work the clasps that bound the dress to her body. There was something so much more poignant than usual in the slow, careful revealing of Nicole’s body, and Waverly’s heart pounded in her chest as she let her lips and her fingers trail over every inch of soft porcelain skin as it was exposed to her. 

"So goddamn _beautiful,"_ she whispered.

Her chest tightened in unexpected _awe_ at the sight of her wife in her lingerie. 

It wasn't the first time she had seen Nicole in underwear like this.

 _Very_ far from it.

But there was something about it tonight that just felt like _more._ Nicole looked so beautiful that it almost _hurt,_ and the sight tugged hard in Waverly’s chest as she settled herself back to allow her wife to remove the dress over the brunette’s own body.

Every moment was so slow, so deliberate and so careful. Every inch of skin unveiled was worshipped like it was the first time they were seeing each other this way. Like they were learning each other’s curves all over again. The dresses fell away, then patient hands and lips and tongues worked just as carefully to strip away the lace and the satin and the silk of lingerie, until finally skin rolled over skin as they moved together.

Nothing felt rushed this time. No desperation, no bucking hips or gripping hands. Yet somehow everything felt so much more intense, and all Waverly could think about was just how _fucking_ much she _loved_ this woman. How much she just wanted their bodies to be as merged and entwined as their lives were.

Even as they sank into each other, movements growing more erratic as they drove each other closer to the edge, all that Waverly could think about was the way their eyes seemed to glaze at the same time. Or the way their heartbeats seemed to pick up at the same time. Or the way their muscles trembled together, and the way they crashed around each other just the slightest of seconds apart.

Waverly had never felt a connection like the one she had to Nicole, and she had never been shy of admitting it. But tonight it felt stronger than it ever had, and she couldn't hold back the few stray tears that burned in her eyes.

Nicole smiled softly, her thumb gently sweeping over the escaping tears as she pulled Waverly into a kiss.

Waverly beamed, shaking her head almost giddily as she pulled back to meet shining dark eyes. She sighed, all out swooning at the appearance of her wife’s dimples.

“I really can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Nicole Haught.”


	17. Maybe It's Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and supporting these additional chapters. 
> 
> I'm in love with writing this story, and I'd never say never to adding future additions, but once again I have other things that I want to focus on for now.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this last installment!
> 
> Love!

In the first week of being married to Nicole Haught, Waverly stepped off of the plane into the glorious burning sunshine of Tahiti.

Their honeymoon destination had been something of great discussion, kicking up more debate and disagreement than the entire wedding put together. Where Waverly had wanted to explore the rich cultures of Europe's oldest cities, Nicole had wanted to trek the most active of trails in Nepal or Peru. Eventually they'd settled on Tahiti; on the merge of French and Polynesian cultures, and the abundance of treks through breathtaking scenery.

Though if Waverly was _completely_ honest, she'd been sold the moment Nicole had pulled up an image of the overwater bungalows.

They'd splashed out. Their bungalow was spacious, bright and airy, and the whole ocean wall was fitted with retractable glass doors, opening out onto the luxurious deck. The deck was kitted out like nothing in Waverly’s wildest dreams; a hammock set down into the wood's edge, suspended over the bay, and a lower deck that led right down to the ocean surface, with winding steps that dropped off in the clear turquoise waters. The hut was the last in the resort, and consequently the deck looked out on all sides to nothing but open sea.

It was a literal, all out paradise, and as Waverly stood on the edge of the lower deck with the ocean before her, she could feel the fresh sea air wash every stress of the past few months away with each deep breath. She spread her arms wide, closing her eyes as she turned her face up to the sun.

Paradise.

Until Nicole Haught's body hit her back, her arms wrapped tightly around the brunette’s waist as she hurled them both over the edge of the deck, and straight into the cool ocean waters.

Fully dressed.

Waverly kicked and thrashed, squealing and huffing as she surfaced to a giggling Nicole bobbing just beside her.

"You are _such_ a goddamn _child!"_ She spluttered, splashing an armload of water over her wife’s smug grin.

"You looked all _Haught,_ I thought you could do with cooling off," Nicole laughed, winking cheekily.

"Did you just _name pun_ me?" Waverly quirked an eyebrow.

"Wedding's over now." Nicole grinned. "It's time someone did."

"I liked it," Waverly chuckled. Her heart calmed slowly as Nicole floated closer, wrapping her legs around the brunette’s waist and pulling her in.

"Tell me this isn't something straight out of your dreams?" Nicole murmured.

The proximity was already distracting Waverly enough to completely forget where she was, and if it weren't for the ripple of the water around her, she might have forgotten to keep herself afloat. Nicole’s hands trailed over her sides, tracing the ridges in the soaking wet tank that clung to the brunette’s body. When the soft touch reached the back of her neck, Waverly shivered. 

_"You sure are,"_ she sighed.

Nicole laughed, leaning in a little closer, her eyes dancing with playful happiness.

"I _meant_ the…"

Waverly cut her off with a deep, slow kiss.

Nicole let a soft moan of surprise float into the kiss, before firm hands tangled into brunette hair and she pushed forward. 

Waverly wasn't sure how she ended up pinned back on the steps up to the deck, with Nicole’s tongue in her mouth and her hips pressing firmly into her own, but the raw desire low in her belly made it hard for her to function, and she couldn't focus on anything that wasn't her wife’s body against her own.

Waverly slipped her hands beneath the sodden fabric of Nicole’s t-shirt, dragging her nails lightly over the tensed muscles of the redhead’s stomach. Nicole shuddered, biting down on Waverly’s lower lip as she rolled her hips forward. 

Waverly smirked.

She would never grow tired of the way her wife’s body responded to her touch, and she would _never_ get bored of the sinful joy she took from teasing Nicole. 

She dragged her fingers lower, teasing at the waistband of Nicole’s shorts. She twisted one hand into her wife’s hair, tugging hard as the other slipped below the waistband and into Nicole’s underwear.

 _"Fuck,_ Waves." 

Nicole groaned, her face dropping to the crook of Waverly’s neck. The brunette slipped her fingers either side of her clit, squeezing gently. 

_"God,_ you drive me so crazy."

Waverly's core clenched at the words, and she circled the pads of her fingers slowly over her wife’s clit. Once. Twice. Then she pulled them out, biting back a chuckle at the strained whimper of frustration that vibrated across the skin of her neck.

She bit her lip as she pulled back to meet wide, bewildered eyes, the pupils blown. She let her hands settle on the front of Nicole’s shoulders, dropping her legs from around the redhead’s waist.

Nicole’s brow furrowed. 

"Wh...?"

Waverly pushed.

Nicole gasped, her eyes and mouth slamming closed as she was sent flying back into the open water, her arms flailing as she fought for some kind of purchase.

By the time she surfaced, Waverly was halfway up the steps to the deck. She giggled as she heard the huff and the muttered retort ring out across the water. 

"Asshole."

Waverly smirked. She wasn't done yet. 

She reached the deck, turning slowly to face her wife. She made a deliberate show of gathering her hair behind her, letting her back arch and her abs strain through the sheer, wet material of her white tank as she wrung the water from the tangled locks.

Nicole swallowed visibly.

Waverly grinned.

It was _so_ easy. Her wife was _right_ where she wanted her.

She kept her eyes trained on glassy mocha as she wrapped her fingers around the hem of her tank, rolling her hips subtly as she peeled the sodden material _way_ too slowly over her abs, then her chest, and finally over her head.

Nicole groaned.

The redhead wasn't moving, except for the gentle motions of her arms and her feet that kept her afloat in the water. Her eyes were dark, transfixed on Waverly as she worked the button of her shorts, dropping the heavy denim to the deck with an audible slap.

When Waverly let her bra fall, the trance broke.

The water sloshed audibly below the deck as Nicole rushed to the steps, and the brunette grinned at the hushed curse that fell as her wife slipped on the wooden rungs.

She sauntered across the deck, giggling at the sounds of wet clothes hitting the wood behind her as she settled herself down in the hammock. 

_Heaven._

The hammock shook, and Waverly quirked an eyebrow as a very breathless, very wet, and very naked Nicole Haught flopped herself down beside her.

"Oh, nice of you to join me," she teased.

"Fuck you," Nicole scoffed playfully.

Waverly grinned, wrapping her fingers around the back of Nicole’s neck and pulling her in close.

_"Yes please."_

Yeah.

With the sun bathing her salt-soaked skin, nothing but ocean as far as she could see, and Nicole’s hand slipping beneath the waistband of her underwear…

Waverly was in heaven.

The next two weeks would be bliss.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the fourth month of being married to Nicole Haught, Waverly got a call from the hospital. 

The second she heard the words _'Purgatory General'_ , she felt sick. She shut down. She couldn't think straight. 

She didn't know _what_ they said to her next. 

She had no idea how she got to the ER. 

She had no idea what the doctors said to her. 

She had no idea what her wife said to her as the firefighter fucking _crutched_ her way down the hospital halls, and she had _no_ idea how she got the idiot into her goddamn jeep.

She didn’t speak a word to her wife’s sorry ass until _after_ she'd wrestled her out of the car and into the house. 

She was _fuming._

She practically whipped the crutches from under Nicole’s elbows, pushing her a little too forcefully down onto the couch and out of harm's way as she bustled about, gathering all the things she would need to run her wife a bath. Towels and pyjamas and a plastic bag for the _fucking_ cast.

"Baby, are you okay?"

Nicole’s voice was small as it called after her. Confused, and uncertain. Waverly felt a small surge of guilt in her chest.

It pissed her off even more.

"You need a bath," she snapped. "You smell like smoke and hospitals."

Waverly marched through the living room, plastic bag in hand as she stomped toward the bathroom. She could see Nicole shuffling herself forward on the couch, and she forced her eyes to stay focused, refusing to let herself look at her helpless wife.

"Waves can you just stop for like, one second? I missed you."

Waverly's eyes burned, and she blinked rapidly as she fought the threat of tears. She clenched her jaw, forcing her feet to keep moving as she headed out into the hall and across to the bathroom. 

"Wave…"

She ignored Nicole’s baffled call as she flicked the taps on, exhaling slowly in an effort to calm her racing heart.

She knew Nicole didn't deserve this. She hadn't done anything wrong. Not really. But she'd gone and got herself _hurt_ and she just _wasn't allowed to do that._

Nicole had fallen quiet as Waverly guided her into the bathroom, and by the time the brunette began tugging impatiently at the smoke-stenched uniform, the firefighter was beginning to look a little pissed off.

_Good._

Waverly exhaled sharply. 

_Much_ easier to manage than the bewildered puppy she'd been dealing with so far.

She grabbed a bath sponge, lathering it up and beginning to scrub the stench of _fire_ and _death_ from her wife’s skin before Nicole had even managed to settle herself back into the water.

 _"Okay,_ baby, _slow down!"_ Nicole huffed out a laugh, her tone soft but firm. "Breathe, please. I’m _fine,_ you don't need to mother me."

“This is all just a _joke_ to you, isn’t it!”

Waverly couldn't help it. Every emotion that she'd experienced over the past two hours had come to a head, and she poured every ounce of it into the venomous spit of her voice.

Nicole’s eyes widened and her jaw slackened.

 _“What_ is your problem?” She caught Waverly’s wrist as the brunette tried to frantically scrub at the skin of her shoulder. “Wave, I don’t understand why you’re…”

“You could have _died,_ Nicole!” Waverly's eyes filled with tears, and she felt another surge of anger at the waver in her voice. “Do you understand how _mad_ I would have been at you if you’d _died?"_

“Waverly, I broke my _ankle!”_ Nicole huffed out a laugh, her exasperation and her confusion clear in her tone.

“But I didn’t _know_ that, did I?” Waverly retorted. She threw her hands in the air, not caring how much water she was throwing around. “All _I_ knew was there was a fire, and then you were in the ER, and I have never been so scared in my goddamn life.”

Nicole exhaled heavily. Her eyes softened, and her lips curled slightly as the understanding finally dawned on her. She sat forward awkwardly, twisting her body in an effort to keep her cast propped up on the edge of the bath.

“Baby, look at me," she whispered. 

Waverly blinked, letting the tears fall. She sniffed, pushing the anger down as she finally let her eyes meet warm mocha.

“I’m so sorry that you were scared, and I’m so sorry that I didn’t understand that." Nicole’s voice was soft, her eyes painfully earnest. "But I _promise_ you, I’m _fine._ I’m alive. I’m in one piece." She grinned. "Almost.” 

“You got hurt,” Waverly whispered, letting her vulnerability seep through the anger for the first time. "You're not allowed to get hurt."

Nicole smirked; that cocky, spine-tingling smirk that never failed to set the butterflies swarming in Waverly's stomach, and the brunette rolled her eyes as she felt her resolve melting.

“I saved a life in a burning building, and I came out with nothing more than a cast on my ankle. I am a goddamn _superhero.”_ Nicole winked.

Waverly scowled.

Nicole grinned.

“I could do more damage than _this_ in our bedroom." She hooked a thumb at her cast, wriggling her eyebrows. "A theory I’d be _more_ than willing to test, if you’ll let me.”

Waverly shook her head, trying her hardest to hold back her smile. She _wanted_ to be angry still, but she knew she couldn't. She wasn't. She was relieved. Relieved that it hadn't been worse. That it hadn't been the thing she'd feared every time the phone rang for the past three years. 

She grinned, letting the sponge fall back into the warm water as she leaned her forehead against Nicole’s. 

“I love you, you idiot.” 

“I love you too.”

Waverly sighed, feeling the tension leave her body as she resumed the movements of the sponge over Nicole’s body; gentler now, slower. Nicole leaned back, her eyes fluttering closed as Waverly massaged her body. She squeezed the sponge a little over the redhead’s chest, letting the water run down the valley between her breasts before sweeping the sponge down and over the curves.

Nicole hummed softly, her nipples hardening under the touch.

“So, about that theory…” Waverly murmured, smirking as Nicole’s lips twitched in amusement. “You think you can still tear my world apart?”

 _“Absolutely.”_

Waverly cocked an eyebrow, biting back her laughter. She knew full well that there was _no_ chance of that happening tonight.

Nicole’s eyes fluttered open, and her brow furrowed for a moment, her nose wrinkled. 

"I guess I _am_ on some pretty strong medication…" 

Waverly laughed.

"Hmm. How about…" she placed a soft kiss on the end of Nicole’s wrinkled nose. "We order a pizza and watch Love Island?"

Nicole’s eyes rolled back, and she groaned, long and low.

_"Yes."_

Waverly giggled.

She kissed her wife softly, lingering just long enough for the last of her tension to ebb away. 

"Come on then." She placed one last chaste peck on Nicole’s lips, then hauled herself to her feet, giggling to herself as she turned on her heel and left the room.

She paused in the hallway, grinning as she heard the squeak of skin against the bathtub, and several grunts and groans of exertion. 

“Wave?”

Waverly held her breath, fighting back her laughter as she heard Nicole huff in frustration. 

“Waverly, I need your help.”

Waverly poked her head back round the bathroom door.

“Thought you didn’t need me _mothering you._ ”

Nicole froze, her lips pursed and her eyes widened as she clutched the edge of the bathtub. 

"Uh…" She smiled sheepishly, one hand creeping up to rub at the back of her neck. “I was wrong, baby please help me?"

“Nope.”

Waverly giggled as she pulled back from the doorway, hearing her wife groan in frustration behind her.

“Waverly Haught, get _back here_ and help me out of this bath so I can gorge on excessive amounts of cheese with you!”

“Don’t be too long, Nic,” Waverly sang. “Don’t think I won’t start without you.” 

_“Dammit.”_ Nicole groaned. “Asshole.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the ninth month, they held another games night.

With a _very_ special request.

"Are you _sure_ this is gonna work, dude?" Nicole watched Jeremy skeptically as he set up the Pictionary board, her brow raised in question. "It's just… we all know Robin isn't all that _skilled_ at this game."

"Yes, but that was when _you_ were drawing." Jeremy pointed the short game pencil at Nicole.

Waverly chuckled as her wife scowled.

"Look, I've got it _all_ planned out." Jeremy beamed, his eyes widening with excitement as he stood. "He'll team up with me, and we'll get a few rounds before the planted card so he'll be warmed up by then. I'll draw the picture, he'll guess, I'll get down on one knee, and it will all be beautiful! He'll say yes, then Waverly will pop the champagne and we can all celebrate!"

Waverly squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she clapped her hands. Nicole nodded, her brow still furrowed. 

"And what if he doesn't get it?"

"I'll give him the card.” Jeremy held out a printed playing card, made up to look just like the official game pieces. He shrugged. “It literally says 'Robin Jett, will you marry me?'"

 _"There_ we go."

 _"That'll_ work!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes as both women spoke simultaneously, Nicole exhaling a sigh of relief.

By the time Robin arrived, Waverly was almost as jittery as Jeremy was. Her palms were sweating, her heart was racing, and she had checked on the tacos at least twice a minute. 

Nicole was as chilled as ever, and Waverly had _no_ idea how her wife was managing it. Even as they played the game, Nicole was on top form and Waverly was a quivering wreck. She was counting the cards, her knee shaking faster and faster with each round closer to the big question. 

Then the card came. Waverly clenched her jaw, fighting desperately not to squeal as she watched Jeremy take a deep breath, and nod at Nicole. Waverly’s eyes flicked to her wife as the redhead fiddled with her phone. Then the song changed on the stereo, and the room filled with the melodic tones of a soulful jazz track that Waverly didn't recognise. 

Waverly hadn't even known that was part of the plan. 

She smiled softly, winking as Nicole caught her eye.

Of course her smooth wife was the one trusted with the little things.

She flipped the timer.

Jeremy’s hands were shaking as he clasped the tiny pencil in his fingers, pressing _just_ too hard against the page as he began to draw. Waverly tensed, her hand shooting out to grab Nicole’s, and she grinned as her wife squeezed it gently. 

Waverly’s knees bounced excessively as the drawing began to take shape. 

A stick man on his knee.

"A car!" Robin called. "A chair?"

Waverly giggled, exchanging a glance with Nicole who rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 

“A dog! A dog with club foot!"

The drawing expanded; a simplistically drawn box, open with a ring in it.

"A toilet. A commode. A commode for disabled dogs!"

Waverly was fit to burst, clenching her jaw and gripping Nicole’s hand tightly as she fought against the urge to intervene. Nicole’s fingers stroking over the back of her hand were the only thing keeping her grounded, and she exhaled heavily as she flicked her eyes to Jeremy’s face.

He looked a little flustered, his cheeks puffed and his hand trembling as he drew, but there was a spark in his eye that made Waverly’s stomach flip with excitement for her best friend.

“A monocle. A monocle for dogs. A ring!" 

Waverly squeaked.

Her hands flew to her mouth, clamping down in an effort to hold back the sounds. Nicole squeezed her thigh in reassurance, though the tight grip told Waverly that her wife was now as tense as she was. They watched, enraptured as Jeremy nodded enthusiastically, waving his hand for Robin to continue. 

"A ring for dogs. A dog tag!"

Nicole sighed.

 _"No,_ no _dogs!"_ Jeremy’s voice shook, and his shoulders dropped a little as he stared helplessly at his boyfriend. "No dogs, Rob."

The timer had long drained, but Waverly couldn’t bring herself to call the time up. It felt like they were _so_ close.

Robin’s brow creased as he studied Jeremy’s wide eyes, and his flushed cheeks and trembling fingers. The firefighter fell quiet for a moment, his eyes flicking first to Waverly, and then to Nicole, and then to their hands clasped tightly together over Waverly’s bouncing knees. He swallowed visibly, his eyes wide with uncertainty.

"A ring," he whispered. "A-a ring?" 

Waverly held her breath as blue eyes flicked back to Jeremy, Robin’s chest starting to fall almost as hard as his boyfriend's. Jeremy nodded.

"An engagement ring?"

_"Yes!"_

Waverly was pretty sure she screamed, but she couldn’t be certain over the equally high pitched and excited cries from both Nicole and Jeremy.

Robin jumped visibly at the outburst, his eyes widening further in shock. His lips curled, the subtle twitch of a soft smile at the corners. 

"So… did I win?"

For all the chaos and the jitters that had filled the air before now, the room was suddenly silent but for the smooth tones of the jazz that still seeped from the stereo. 

Jeremy fumbled in his pocket, visibly shaking as he shuffled himself off of the couch and onto one knee.

The _wrong_ knee, Waverly cursed herself for noticing.

Then he dropped the ring, and Waverly _felt_ Nicole groan beside her.

Robin’s eyes filled with tears, and he giggled as Jeremy scrabbled under the couch to retrieve the runaway jewellery. He watched, quietly amused as Jeremy settled himself back into position, the ring now held proudly out before him.

Waverly held her breath. Jeremy inhaled shakily. Robin waited patiently.

For a little too long.

Nicole cleared her throat.

Jeremy started, his fingers fumbling once more with the ring box as his cheeks coloured.

"R-right. God." He chuckled bashfully, shaking his head. "Erm, I… Robin Jett, will you…"

Jeremy’s voice broke, the audible catch cutting off his words. He cleared his throat, his eyes misty as they fixed on Robin’s. 

"Will you marry me?"

Waverly heard Nicole exhale in relief beside her.

Robin beamed.

 _"Yes,_ of _course!"_ He laughed, pulling Jeremy into a kiss.

Waverly sobbed. She couldn't help it. She watched, her hands clasped together before her chest as the tears filled her eyes.

Until Nicole nudged her.

_"Fudgenuggets."_

She scrambled up, grabbing the bottle of champagne that she had stashed behind the plant pot beside her, and fumbled to pop the cork as quickly as possible. 

Nicole winked, grinning widely as she held out the tray of flutes that she had hidden behind the couch.

"To us." Jeremy beamed, his eyes watery as he held up his glass.

"To us." Robin echoed, wrapping his free arm around his fiancé.

"To the _second_ greatest couple to get engaged in this house." Nicole grinned.

Waverly giggled, raising her glass high in the air.

"To another big gay wedding!" 

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the twelfth month, Waverly woke exceptionally early on a Sunday morning. A Sunday morning exactly one year after the day she'd married Mrs Nicole Haught. 

She had let herself lie in just a few minutes longer than she'd planned, warm and far too content cuddled up close to her sleeping wife. Then she had dragged herself quietly from the bed, dressed in silence, and snuck out the front door.

Now she was back. She was amazed that she'd managed to make it home and make breakfast and coffee before her wife woke, and even more amazed that she'd managed to stash Nicole’s anniversary present in the bottom of the wardrobe without causing _too_ much of a scene.

_Yet._

She was ready.

"Happy anniversary, baby."

Nicole stirred at the soft sound of Waverly’s voice, and her lips curled instantly into a sleepy smile as she turned into the gentle palm cupping her cheek. Waverly kissed her forehead, sweeping her fingers to push back the ruffled red hair that fell over closed eyes.

"Mmm very happy," Nicole murmured, her eyelids fluttering as she fought against the pull of sleep. "Happy anniversary to you too."

Nicole’s dimples popped subtly as slightly dazed eyes finally flickered open, and she hummed contentedly as she met her wife's gaze.

"You're up early." She flicked her eyes over Waverly’s body, her brow furrowing ever so slightly. "Why are you dressed?"

Waverly opened her mouth to reply, but the words died on her tongue as a soft, barely audible whimper floated from behind the closed doors of the oversized wardrobe. 

She stilled, watching Nicole warily. She was rather hoping her wife wouldn't catch on _just_ yet, but she couldn't help but feel amused at the redhead’s slow blinks and the creased line of confusion across her brow.

“Wh…"

“I made you breakfast," Waverly sang, cupping Nicole’s cheeks to bring her gaze back to meet her own. She lifted the steaming coffee mug from the bedside table, hoping that the scent would entice the redhead enough to distract her.

Nicole glanced once more at the wardrobe, then shook her head softly. A lopsided grin spread slowly across her face as she sat herself up against the headboard, accepting the mug of coffee gratefully from her wife’s hands.

The wardrobe whimpered again, louder this time, and Waverly bit back a giggle as Nicole’s brow shot down comically and her attention flicked back to the wooden doors. 

“Waves, why is the wardrobe crying?”

She rubbed dazedly at her eyes with the fist of her free hand, and Waverly couldn’t help but find the sleepy confusion adorable.

“I got you a present.” Waverly grinned, giggling softly as Nicole’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline, something like recognition flashing through her eyes. “Something you said you’ve always wanted.”

The wardrobe door rattled, and Nicole pursed her lips in excitement, her eyes wide as she pushed herself further upright.

“Did you kidnap Gillian Anderson?” She cocked an eyebrow. 

Waverly scowled.

Nicole grinned, charming and dimpled, all traces of the sleep-daze long gone in her anticipation. 

_“No,"_ Waverly scolded, narrowing her eyes at her wife as she moved toward the wardrobe. “Not quite.”

She took a deep breath, shooting a dazzling smile at her wife, before dramatically pulling back the wardrobe door with a flourish.

Nicole all-out squealed.

Waverly giggled as the dopey, clumsy little puppy she had collected in the early hours of the morning bounded out of the confined space, slipping on the hardwood floors as it hurled itself at the bed in a desperate effort to reach the cooing redhead. 

Waverly grinned, stooping down to sweep the writhing furball into her arms, and deposited him into her wife’s waiting lap.

“Oh my _god._ _"_ Nicole’s eyes misted with adoration, and her dimples looked deeper than ever as she bowled the puppy onto his back, rubbing the little pink belly energetically. "Who is _this?”_

"This is your new son." 

"Is that _right,_ little man?" Nicole's voice was several octaves higher than usual, and Waverly couldn't help but laugh at the overt display of giddy affection.

"I’ve been calling him Tater," Waverly grinned, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed and sinking her fingers into the soft fur at the back of the puppy's neck. "He's a five month old Retriever cross German Shepherd."

Nicole’s eyebrow shot up, and she smirked in amusement. 

“You named our dog Tater Haught?” 

Waverly grinned. 

“I had to call him _something."_ She shrugged. "But it was just temporary. You can name him whatever you like, baby."

"Oh yeah?" Nicole grinned, her brows raised knowingly as she studied Waverly’s face. "How about Artie?"

Waverly screwed her face up.

"You can name him _whatever_ you like," she repeated, desperately trying to keep the disdain and the hope from her voice. 

This was Nicole’s present, and Nicole’s choice, but she couldn't fight the resentment she felt at the immediate dismissal of the name she had chosen.

It was cute. And it was _funny!_

Nicole bit her lip, nodding slowly as her playful eyes watched the brunette’s face. 

"Roscoe?"

"If you _like..."_ Waverly shrugged, pursing her lips as her shoulders tensed against her will.

Nicole’s dimples deepened, her eyes sparkling as she visibly bit back her amusement. 

“Bark Twain?”

Waverly scowled.

Nicole laughed, shaking her head fondly, and Waverly knew she'd been rumbled. She rolled her eyes.

"Welcome to the family, Tater," Nicole cooed.

The day revolved largely around the dog; a trip to the pet store for toys and beds and bowls and food, then walks, and hours and hours of playtime. Tater was a cheeky, mischievous, naughty-as-all-damn-hell addition to the Haught household, and Nicole was visibly in love. And Waverly was feeling _extremely_ proud of her purchase.

Until the evening.

They had dinner reservations for 7pm, and Jeremy and Robin were due to arrive for babysitting duties at six.

It was 5:30pm, and neither Waverly nor Nicole were anywhere _near_ ready. Tater had developed an immediate penchant for bras, and Waverly was currently chasing him round the house for the third time that evening in desperate pursuit of the new lace balconette that she'd bought to surprise Nicole with tonight. 

Nicole was nowhere to be seen, but Waverly suspected she was likely crying in the bathroom over the giant hole their four-pawed little fucker had chewed in the trouser leg of her turnouts.

When Jeremy and Robin arrived, they’d lost him.

They'd turned every cushion and every cupboard inside out, and whilst Jeremy and Robin seemed nothing but amused, Waverly was fast losing her patience. They had four minutes until they had to leave, and the dog had disappeared off of the face of the goddamn earth.

"Uh… guys?"

Waverly started, scrambling out from under the bed at the sound of Jeremy’s voice calling from the kitchen.

"Your laundry bin is snoring."

Waverly sighed.

For _fuck_ sake.

All that chaos, and their little bundle was curled up, cute as a goddamn button amongst Nicole’s dirty work socks.

Like butter wouldn't melt.

By the time they returned from their evening out, Tater was snoring peacefully in his ridiculously extravagant _memory foam_ bed. Though by the hushed, whispered goodbyes, and the slightly dazed and very exhausted looks on Jeremy and Robin's faces, he had not been that way for long.

Waverly practically dragged Nicole past the sleeping puppy and into their bedroom, tugging hard on the redhead’s arm as her wife faltered a little at the whimpered noises Tater made in his sleep.

Waverly had other plans.

Nicole had _just_ sunk her fingers deep into Waverly’s aching core, her teeth closed over the brunette’s earlobe, when a high pitched bark rang out at the side of the bed.

 _"Shit_ a _fucking_ brick!" Nicole yelped, every muscle jolting in fear as she jumped away from the sudden noise.

Tater stilled at the movement, his head cocked to the side and his ears pricked upright as he stared intrusively at Nicole’s face.

“Ignore him, baby, _please,”_ Waverly whined, her back arching into her wife’s fingers as the redhead eyed the dog warily. She wrapped her hands around Nicole’s neck, pulling her focus back to her. "Fuck, _please,_ I need you _so_ bad."

Nicole smirked, her eyes glazing over with desire once more as she thrust her fingers hard, claiming Waverly’s lips in a slow, messy kiss. Waverly moaned, her toes curling into the mattress as her wife’s fingers hit her g-spot, her thighs already trembling with pleasure.

Until a very cold, very wet tongue licked the sole of her foot.

She squealed into the kiss, jerking her leg up and away from the unwanted assault. Nicole pulled back, her brow furrowed and a question on her lips, but Waverly was having none of it. She tugged hard in red hair, pulling Nicole back into the kiss as she rolled her hips into the faltered touch.

This dog was _not_ going to steal her orgasm from her. Not if she could help it. 

Until the cold tongue moved to her other foot, pushing its slobbery way between Waverly’s curled toes.

She balked.

 _“Okay,_ and I think we’re done here.”

Waverly pushed a baffled Nicole back and off to the side, growling in frustration.

"Please say this isn't it for us now?" Waverly whined dramatically, throwing her arm over her face as she clenched her thighs together. "I'm too Haught for a life of celibacy."

Nicole chuckled softly, scooping their clitoference of a puppy up into her arms and depositing him delicately onto the bed beside a grumbling Waverly. 

Tater immediately settled himself on Waverly’s chest, and despite every one of her raging nerve endings, the brunette couldn't help but giggle.

She sighed.

“And then there were three.”

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the second month of the third year, Waverly strolled hand in hand with her wife into their first ever Lighthouse Adoption Agency meet and greet event.

The past eighteen months had been the _longest_ process. Months and months of meetings and counselling and training and assessments, and a whole world of uncertainty and stress and excitement and longing. 

And now they were here. 

Nicole had rushed over from the fire station, having been called in at the last minute to cover an overnight sickness, and after hours of worrying that the firefighter wouldn't make it on time, Waverly had never been so glad to see her wife’s face. The redhead was almost trembling beside her, her hand gripping Waverly’s so tightly that the brunette was pretty sure the grip would bruise her. But she understood. She shared the same nerves, anticipation, and desperate excitement that she could read in her wife’s wide eyes.

The large open green was bustling, children of all ages running around everywhere, and Waverly felt a little overwhelmed at the sheer number of little faces waiting to find their families.

She had _no_ idea where to start, and the bewildered wonder in her wife’s eyes told her she wasn't the only one.

Just _wander,_ the social worker had told them. Just _mingle._

She let her gaze explore, taking in the little groups of small children playing with dolls and teddies, or drawing chalk images on the paved patio. A small crowd of older children kicked a ball around across the other side of the green, and a colourful makeshift crèche bustled with the sound of babbles and cries of babies and toddlers.

"'Scuse me, 're you a fireman?"

Waverly's chest fluttered as a little boy dressed in shiny red turnouts and a plastic firefighter helmet almost collided with Nicole’s knees, wide eyes staring up at the emblem sewn over the sleeve of the redhead’s shirt.

Nicole squeezed Waverly’s hand gently; a move of reassurance, before she let go, crouching down to the little boy's level.

"I am a firefighter, yes."

 _"Cool.”_ The boy poked his fingers clumsily over Nicole’s badge, his eyes sparkling as he grinned toothily. _“I'm_ gonna be a fireman one day too."

"You look like you already _are!"_ Nicole grinned, tapping the little boy's hat playfully.

 _"I_ wanna be a fireperson _too!”_

Waverly giggled as a second set of fingers appeared, the little girl instantly prodding at Nicole’s uniform.

“It’s not called a fire _man,_ " the little girl stated, shaking her head at her friend. "'Cause _girls_ can be firepeople too! Like this lady!”

Waverly felt goosebumps rise over her skin as she watched her wife interact, her breath catching as she imagined Nicole swooping the children up into a fireman's lift, and carrying them giggling to their beds, Tater trotting along behind them.

 _God_ , she loved that woman. And she couldn't _wait_ to see her be a mother.

_“Fudgenuggets!”_

Waverly spun, distracted immediately as the familiar curse grabbed her attention.

"Come _on_ Ava, get it together. You can _do_ this."

Waverly’s heart lurched in her throat, and butterflies swarmed in her stomach as her eyes landed on the source of the little voice.

The girl must have been six or seven, and she sat alone at a wooden bench, muttering under her breath as she focused on building a lego contraption that Waverly couldn't have identified if she'd tried. Amber-red hair stuck out _everywhere,_ and there was a fire in light hazel eyes that made Waverly’s chest ache. The little girl's tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth with determination as she focused on her building, and she reminded Waverly _so_ much of her wife building their _damn_ shed, that she couldn't help but be drawn instantly.

She was stood beside the bench before she even really realised it.

“Hey there,” she grinned, her voice soft. “Would you like some help?”

The little girl didn't look up as she gave a shake of her head, her furrowed brow creasing even deeper. 

Waverly pursed her lips in amusement. There was just _something_ about this little girl that told her she knew _exactly_ what answer she was about to receive.

“No, I got this!” 

Waverly grinned, the tug on her heart growing stronger.

“You sure do.” She nodded. “Would it be okay if I sat with you?”

Hazel eyes finally looked up at Waverly for the slightest of glances, and the little girl nodded.

“I’m Waverly.” The brunette slid into the bench opposite the little girl, smiling softly as fiery eyes immediately focused back on the lego bricks. “What’s your name?”

“Ava.”

“That’s pretty. What you making here, Ava?”

Ava cocked an eyebrow, almost disdainful, and Waverly bit her cheek in amusement at the sassy little roll of her eyes.

“It’s a _castle,_ ” Ava sighed. _“Obviously.”_

“Of course…” Waverly whispered, biting her lip to hold back her almost giddy giggles. “I knew that.”

The familiar sound of Nicole’s chuckle behind her set the butterflies surging once again in Waverly’s stomach, and the redhead winked as she caught her wife’s eye.

“That looks like fun," she exclaimed, leaning over to study Ava's castle. "Can I play?”

Ava's skeptical eyes studied Nicole for a long moment, and then finally she nodded, shuffling along the bench so that the firefighter could join her.

“Oh sure, _she’s_ allowed,” Waverly teased.

Ava shrugged.

“Redheads do things better.”

Waverly bit her lip, shaking her head as her wife laughed openly. 

“Well _that’s_ true,” Nicole chuckled as Waverly narrowed her eyes playfully.

 _“But…”_ Nicole's sparkling eyes held Waverly’s own as she spoke, and the brunette could see the same intrigued endearment dancing behind them that she felt in her own chest. Nicole winked. "Waverly here is _very_ smart. I think we could definitely use her help.” 

Ava narrowed her eyes, leaning back on the bench as she studied Waverly. Nicole mirrored the little girl's stance playfully, folding her arms across her chest as she fixed mischievous eyes on the brunette's. 

“She’s smart?” Ava glanced back at Nicole. 

“Oh, the smartest.” Nicole nodded earnestly, her lips quirked in a subtle grin. “What do you say?”

“Okay.” Ava nodded decisively. “You can make the turrets.”

 _"Oh, turrets!"_ Nicole mouthed, her eyes playfully wide as they fixed on Waverly’s. 

Waverly raised her eyebrows, giggling softly as she picked up a piece from the pile of lego.

"No no, that's the _dungeon,"_ Ava scolded, grabbing the piece from Waverly’s hand and swapping it for another. "The turrets are _this_ colour."

Nicole's cheeks were tinted red, her eyes watery and her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back her giggles. Ava rolled her eyes, hooking a thumb at Waverly as she eyed Nicole with exasperation.

"I thought you said she was smart!"

Nicole grinned, her eyes sparkling as they fixed knowingly on Waverly’s. 

"Even smart people make mistakes."

Waverly fell in love. 

Twice.

⇜~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⇝

In the fourth month of the third year of being married to Nicole Haught, Waverly was sprawled across the couch with her wife and her dog when Nicole’s phone rang.

She scrambled up, her stomach lurching as she watched mocha eyes scan the caller ID.

This was it. She knew it.

She could feel it.

And she could see it in Nicole’s tense jaw and her trembling fingers.

She exhaled shakily, anxiously wringing her hands as she watched Nicole’s face carefully, their eyes locked together. 

She watched the lines in Nicole’s forehead, and the twitch at the corners of her lips. She watched the rise and fall of her chest, and she watched the colours in her eyes change. 

Nerves. 

Relief.

Excitement. 

Waverly held her breath, her arms clinging desperately to Tater in an effort to keep herself grounded.

Her heart thudded in her throat as Nicole’s eyes widened, and her eyebrows shot up. 

Surprise?

Uncertainty?

Her pulse hammered in her ears, and she couldn't have understood the words that fell from her wife’s lips if she'd tried.

She felt her hands start to tremble as her anxiety gripped her, and she buried one deeper into Tater's fur, the other reaching almost instinctively for her wife’s touch. Nicole’s hand covered her own, drawing soft circles in reassurance until she finally wrapped up the phone call.

Nicole exhaled slowly, her lips twitching ambiguously as she gathered her composure.

Waverly couldn’t take it.

“What did she say?” Her voice shook, breaking on every word.

Nicole grinned.

Waverly’s stomach flipped.

“Is it a yes?” She breathed.

“It’s a yes, baby!” 

Waverly exhaled heavily, her eyes filling with tears.

“For real?" She choked. "After everything? After all that chaos?”

Nicole nodded, and Waverly’s shoulders dropped. They had been _so_ worried. So sure that they would be judged negatively for the absolute _mayhem_ of their last visit from the social worker, and the impeccable timing of a brash Wynonna and an excitable Jeremy, and of their lingerie-stealing _fiend_ of a dog.

“She called that chaos _family.”_ Nicole giggled, shaking her head at the memories. “She said she has no doubt that Ava will have a loving and fulfilling life with us.”

_Family._

Waverly’s composure snapped.

She launched herself forward into Nicole’s arms, the tears streaming unashamedly down her face as she let the relief and the euphoria pour out of her. She sobbed as Nicole’s arms closed tight around her, and she felt her wife’s chest hitch with the release of her own emotion.

_They'd done it._

Waverly beamed, fruitlessly blinking away the tears as she pulled back to search Nicole’s face. 

“We’ve gotta decorate the room!" She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, jumping to her feet as her mind began to race. "What’s her favourite colour? I never asked her favourite colour! Is it purple? She wears a lot of purple. Do you think she likes sparkles?”

“Waves, there’s something else.”

Waverly’s heart dropped at the low, steady tone of Nicole’s voice, and she halted. She watched her wife’s face carefully as the redhead took a deep breath, gesturing beside her for Waverly to sit.

"Wh-what?" 

Waverly's muscles trembled as she perched back on the couch beside Nicole, her heart hammering in her throat. 

“Ava’s birth mom had another baby.”

Waverly furrowed her brow.

"A-a baby?"

The words just didn't make sense in her head, and her mind felt a little hazy as she tried to process what they meant.

“He’s nine months old. He’s just been taken into care.” 

Nicole paused, warm, compassionate eyes searching Waverly’s own as she waited for the words to process in her wife’s mind.

Waverly blinked, her brow creasing further.

“They want to place them together.”

Waverly’s heart stopped.

_What?_

“W-With us?”

Nicole nodded.

“His name is _Elliot,"_ she breathed, her lips quirking in the _softest_ of smiles that betrayed everything she was visibly trying to hold back, and Waverly melted. Nicole swallowed. “What do you think?”

Tears burned in the back of Waverly’s eyes, and she felt her blood heat in her veins as the emotion overwhelmed her.

"It's a lot, Wave," Nicole reassured, calm and steady despite the telltale spark in mocha eyes. "I told them we would talk it over, and I don't want you to feel _any_ pressure over this, it's _completely…"_

“I… _nine_ _months?”_ Waverly interrupted. The adrenaline was beginning to surge strong in her veins, and she looked frantically around the room as she tried to bend and shift every image she'd had in her mind over the past 20 months. Her mind launched into overdrive. “We need a crib and a high chair, and a pram, and a car seat, and… and they'll have to share a room! Is it big enough?"

Nicole was right. It was a lot.

But Waverly knew the answer.

She'd known it as soon as she'd heard the words leave Nicole’s mouth, and seen the softest of smiles on her wife’s face.

Nicole nodded in understanding. Her face was composed, but Waverly could see the unbridled excitement reflected in mocha eyes.

“I think…” Nicole started, her eyes saying everything her words weren't as she searched her wife’s face. “Maybe, we’ll need a bigger place?”

Waverly huffed out a wistful laugh, her eyes welling with bittersweet tears. 

A bigger place.

A _different_ place.

A new place.

She nodded slowly.

“A _family_ place.”

Nicole beamed, wrapping her arms tight around Waverly’s waist as she tugged the brunette up onto her lap. She nodded, rubbing the tip of her nose gently over Waverly’s. 

"Maybe it's time."


End file.
